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Community will be within Monument's Village at Jackson Creek mixed-use development
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Nov. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Thompson Thrift, a full-service nationally recognized real estate company and one of the nation's leading multifamily developers, announced today the development of Alta25, a 264-unit Class A multifamily community in the Colorado Springs suburb of Monument. Thompson Thrift plans to welcome new residents starting in 2025.
"There is strong demand for luxury multifamily communities in this area," said Josh Purvis, managing partner for Thompson Thrift Residential. "We expect that Alta25 will provide an appealing rental option for residents desiring the style, luxury and convenience that Thompson Thrift communities feature."
Located at 16218 Jackson Creek Pkwy, Alta25 will offer eight, three-story garden style buildings and 96 detached garages. The one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes will average 987 square feet with luxury finishes including gourmet bar-kitchens with elegant quartz countertops, timeless tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, designer fixtures and finishes, Alexa-compatible smart hub to integrate all smart devices, smart thermostat and smart door locks, walk-in closets, full-size washers and dryers, as well as patio, balcony, and private yard options.
Luxury living will continue throughout the community with amenities such as a professionally decorated clubhouse, resort-style swimming pool, 24-hour fitness center, Amazon Package Hub, bike storage and workshop, thoughtfully designed courtyards, grilling stations, outdoor game area, an electronic firepit with seating area, a dog park, pet spa with grooming station, and more.
The site is adjacent to Monument Marketplace, which is home to over 658,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, and sits within The Village at Jackson Creek, a mixed-use project currently in development. Historic downtown Monument, less than three miles north, offers small-town charm filled with unique and locally owned boutiques, restaurants, galleries and spas.
Nearby Interstate 25 is currently being widened to six lanes, which will improve traffic flow from Colorado Springs to Denver, and further improve access to several major employers including Fort Carson, UCHealth Memorial Hospital North and Schriever Space Force Base.
Monument offers the ideal Colorado setting with views of Pikes Peak to the southwest, the Rocky Mountains to the west. Additionally, residents will enjoy an abundance of outdoor recreation, and highly rated public schools, both of which contributed to Monument being ranked as one of the best places to raise a family in Colorado.
During the past 30 years Thompson Thrift has developed more than $4 billion of ground-up development projects across the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest. The company made a name for itself by being one of the few developers to build high-quality, attractive Class A residential communities with a variety of conventional, luxury leased villa and townhome-style communities.
Alta25 will be Thompson Thrift's ninth community in Colorado.
About Thompson Thrift Real Estate Company
Thompson Thrift is an integrated full-service real estate company with offices in Indianapolis and Terre Haute, Indiana; Denver, Houston and Phoenix. Three business units drive Thompson Thrift's success—Thompson Thrift Residential which is focused on upscale Class A multifamily communities and luxury leased homes, Thompson Thrift Commercial which is focused on ground-up commercial development, and Thompson Thrift Construction, a full-service construction company. Through these business units, Thompson Thrift is engaged in all aspects of acquisition, development, construction, leasing, and management of quality multifamily, mixed-use, retail, industrial and commercial projects across the country. We are passionate about our customer's success and strive to ensure our projects not only meet the needs of our customers but also the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.thompsonthrift.com
Contact:
Jennifer Franklin
Spotlight Marketing Communications
949.427.1385
jennifer@spotlightmarcom.com
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SOURCE Thompson Thrift | 2022-11-28T13:38:42+00:00 | uppermichiganssource.com | https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/prnewswire/2022/11/28/thompson-thrift-develop-luxury-multifamily-community-outside-colorado-springs/ |
About a month ago, I caught a few seconds of a radio conversation about orthodoxy versus orthopraxy, or the idea of what you believe versus what you do. It ended up being one of those brain worms that sticks and keeps coming to the forefront of your mind at random times like when you’re doing laundry or trying to fall asleep.
It reminded me of comedian Ricky Gervais’ monologue at the Oscars in 2020 when he called out the hypocrisy of Hollywood saying, “Apple roared into the TV game with 'The Morning Show,' a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing … made by a company that runs sweatshops in China. Well, you say you’re woke but the companies you work for, I mean, unbelievable. Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service, you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you? So, if you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech, right? You are in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, right, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your god and (that’s it).”
People are also reading…
A few weeks later, I was listening to a Serial podcast called "The Trojan Horse Affair" about the investigation around a supposed Islamist plot to take over schools in Britain. It was noted that the person responsible for briefing an investigator about the religious parameters in British schools had never actually read the documents outlining the religious parameters in British schools.
We can easily find instances like this elsewhere, can’t we? Politics, religion, charities, corporations -- there are instances of hypocrisy everywhere. And it’s maddening. Why is it so common for belief and action to be out of sync?
The frustration of it all compounds over time and it begins to make us skeptical. That can be good when it encourages fact-checking, the concept of “trust by verify,” or motivates us to guide change where change is necessary.
But it is unhealthy when it fosters a “gotcha” attitude or makes us jaded to the point of anger.
I think that’s where a lot of us are today, especially with respect to the media, politics and basically anything to do with COVID-19. We’re angry trying to dismantle, we’re angry trying to defend, we’re angry about apathy. We’re just plain angry.
And it’s getting us nowhere.
Why? Because we’re mad at others when the only behavior we can directly affect is our own. However, when it comes to self-evaluation, we’re less able to see our orthodoxy versus our orthopraxy. It’s hard to examine the intricacies and fallout of our actions. It’s also easy to justify why we make decisions that don’t line up perfectly. We know the details. We give ourselves grace. Our distance makes us much more able to see -- and criticize -- the hypocrisy in others. And, consequently, get angry.
Perhaps examining orthodoxy versus orthopraxy should become the new hot topic of business school or law school or seminary. Perhaps that should be where licensing and regulation focus. Perhaps awards should be given to those who come closest to total alignment, and media coverage should highlight what it took to get there. And perhaps we should all learn the tools to more accurately assess ourselves.
When not living it up as a wife and mom of three, Amanda Godfread is regional director of Make-A-Wish North Dakota and a co-host of the podcast, "Welcome to Our Box." | 2022-05-12T07:39:31+00:00 | bismarcktribune.com | https://bismarcktribune.com/opinion/columnists/speaking-out-orthodoxy-vs-orthopraxy/article_274bb106-d0a3-11ec-9f83-b3390ba374ff.html |
TOKYO, May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Polyplastics Group has introduced a new series of engineering plastic fine powders which are compatible with a broad range of manufacturing methods. The company has expanded its lineup with DURAST (TM) Powders which, going beyond traditional injection molding and extrusion, are targeted for low-volume production of complex parts utilizing sinter forming, compression molding, and 3D printing.
Photo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M100475/202204270565/_prw_PI1fl_E9WqS6Bj.jpeg
DURAST (TM) Powders made of polyacetal (POM), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) have a unique spherical shape and are controlled for fine, narrow particle size distribution (10-200 micrometers). Engineering plastics in powder form permit the use of manufacturing methods that were previously impossible with pellet shapes, making it possible to impart the strengths of engineering plastics and additional performance attributes. Polyplastics developed these fine powders after extensive research and testing of powder-manufacturing methods.
Polyplastics was successful in powdering POM with a low glass transition temperature. Moreover, modified DURAST (TM) POM, exhibiting slow crystallization, is useful for 3D printing. It also has low warpage in SLS models and superior powder flowability. So it can achieve model density over 95%.
DURAST (TM) PPS can be used to mold porous structures through sinter formation. It is linear PPS with strong toughness and heat resistance, along with strong chemical and radiation resistance. Since it has few ionic impurities, DURAST (TM) PPS also withstands rigorous electrical requirements.
DURAST (TM) LCP offers superior vibrational absorption with high heat resistance and high elasticity in dielectric constant modifiers. It also exhibits low water absorption and electrical properties that are stable at high frequencies. DURAST (TM) LCP is available in both formless and spherical powders.
Please also visit, https://www.polyplastics-global.com/en/approach/8.html
About Polyplastics
Polyplastics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in the development and production of engineering thermoplastics. The company's product portfolio includes POM, PBT, PPS, LCP, COC, PET, and LFT (long fiber-reinforced thermoplastics). The company has the largest global market share of POM, LCP, and COC. With more than 50 years of experience, the company is backed by a strong global network of R&D, production, and sales resources capable of creating advanced solutions for an ever-changing global marketplace.
*DURAST (TM) is a trademark owned by Polyplastics Co., Ltd.
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SOURCE Polyplastics Co., Ltd. | 2022-05-12T06:37:07+00:00 | mysuncoast.com | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/12/polyplastics-new-engineering-plastic-fine-powders-compatible-with-wide-range-processing-methods/ |
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron announced an overhaul of France’s struggling health system Friday, including new funding methods for doctors and hospitals, more hiring and other organizational changes.
Macron’s speech came as many hospitals in France have reported major difficulties in recent weeks, with emergency units overwhelmed by patients with flu, COVID-19 and bronchiolitis infections.
Family doctors also went on strike during the end-of-year holiday to call for an increase in their consultation fees — currently set to 25 euros ($26) — and better working conditions.
In a speech at a hospital in Evry, a southern suburb of Paris, Macron vowed to “respond to the concerns of many of our fellow citizens (who want) to get health care within a short time … and to the concerns, anxiety, tiredness of health care professionals.”
He announced the recruitment of thousands of medical assistants to help doctors.
“Our collective challenge in the short-term is to free up some time for doctors to take care of patients … both in private practice and at hospital,” he said.
Macron announced major changes in the way hospitals get funding so that they are not penalized anymore when they do complex, time-consuming activities.
He also vowed to increase fees of doctors on condition they are involved in ensuring the continuity of health care in their area and accept new patients. Details of the changes are to be worked out in the coming months, he said.
Talks are also to be held by June about working time rules in hospitals, he said, saying the current system is inefficient.
Considered one of the best in the world, the French health care system has for many years years suffered from a shortage of doctors and other professionals, a situation aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis.
Recent changes allowed the country to train more doctors and nurses, yet it will take years to see the impact of such measures, Macron stressed.
France’s health care system involves a state-funded health insurance that reimburses patients most of the cost of consultations, medical interventions and medicines prescribed by a doctor. In addition, the French can also apply to private insurance to increase their health coverage. | 2023-01-06T16:15:00+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-macron-to-overhaul-frances-struggling-health-care-system/ |
LUSAIL – The six-goal final between France and Argentina set a World Cup record of 172 at this year’s tournament.
The previous tournament record of 171 goals was set in 1998 and 2014. The 1998 tournament in France was the first edition in the current 64-game, 32-team format.
A new record is likely to be set at the 2026 World Cup, which has been expanded to 48 teams playing either 80 or 104 games.
On Sunday, Argentina and France drew 3-3 through extra time to set the record. Lionel Messi scored two goals for Argentina and Kylian Mbappe got a hat trick for France — the first in a World Cup final since 1966.
Argentina won the title, its third, by prevailing 4-2 in a penalty shootout.
It was the second straight six-goal final. France defeated Croatia 4-2 four years ago in Russia.
The 2.63 goals per game average in Qatar is far below the World Cup record of 5.38 goals per game at the 1954 edition in Switzerland.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-12-18T19:55:18+00:00 | clickorlando.com | https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2022/12/18/world-cup-in-qatar-sets-scoring-record-with-172-goals/ |
Dine al fresco no matter how small your outdoor space is with one of these sets
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Grand Patio Premium Steel Patio Bistro Set
- Flash Furniture Round Table with Rattan Stack Chairs
- Safavieh 7-Piece Outdoor Living Horus Dining Set
There are plenty of things to enjoy about warm weather, but dining outdoors has to be near the top of the list. You don’t have to wait for barbecues or picnics to do it, either. With an outdoor dining set, you can enjoy a meal outside your home whenever you like.
If you have limited outdoor space, finding furniture that will fit on your patio, deck or balcony can be tough, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create your own outdoor dining area. With one of these compact, stylish dining sets, you can maximize your outdoor space and eat in comfort all summer.
How to choose an outdoor dining set for a small space
If your home has extremely limited outdoor space, a bistro-style patio dining set is your best bet. These sets typically consist of a round table with a diameter of approximately 24 inches and two chairs. Seating is obviously limited with this type of dining set, but it won’t take up much space on a patio or balcony.
For homes with a bit more outdoor space to work with, you may be able to fit a table that seats four or more. In a smaller area, you’re better off with a square or rectangular table. Round tables that seat more than two people can take up a lot of space, so you may not have room to move around it and the chairs comfortably.
If you want seating for more than two people in your outdoor dining area, you can also find tables designed for the chairs to slide under the table when not in use. These sets maximize your available space and let you move through it freely when you’re not dining.
Best outdoor dining sets for small spaces
Grand Patio Premium Steel Patio Bistro Set
This powder-coated steel bistro patio set can fit in even the smallest outdoor spaces. The pieces are rust-resistant and require no assembly. The chairs have wide, thick bars on the seat and back to make them more comfortable and can hold up to 330 pounds.
Sold by Amazon
Flash Furniture Round Metal/Glass Table with Rattan Stack Chairs
This compact, contemporary-style patio dining set features a table with a glass top and a durable metal frame. The chairs also have metal frames, but their backs and seats are made of rattan with a decorative edge. They have plastic floor gliders on their feet to avoid damage to your patio.
Sold by Amazon
Sol 72 Outdoor Condon Rectangular 2-Person Outdoor Dining Set
This comfortable, stylish patio dining set makes the most of limited space, so it’s ideal for balconies and other smaller outdoor areas. The pieces feature a durable aluminum frame and are covered with lightweight synthetic wicker. Best of all, the chairs slide under the table to keep the space around it free when not in use.
Sold by Wayfair
Flash Furniture Nantucket 6-Piece Patio Garden Table Set
If you want to seat more than two people in your outdoor dining area, this patio set is compact enough to work in many areas. The round table has a glass top with a diameter of 31.25 inches but still seats four people. It comes with four folding chairs and a tilting umbrella.
Sold by Amazon
Agio Carlisle 5-Piece Outdoor Dining Set
This low-maintenance dining set includes a smooth, rust-resistant aluminum table and four wicker chairs with reticulated foam to provide plenty of cushioning. The open-cell material of the foam allows it to drain quickly, so you don’t have to bring the chairs in when it rains.
Sold by Amazon
Walker Edison Catalina Contemporary 5-Piece Outdoor Dining Table and Chair Set
This striking acacia wood patio set has a counter-height table and four dining chairs to create a comfortable dining area. The table’s rectangular shape helps it fit in smaller spaces but can still hold up to 150 pounds. All the pieces are resistant to the elements and only require oiling every few months.
Sold by Amazon
Hampton Bay Ashbury Pewter 5-Piece Steel Padded Sling Square Glass Top Outdoor Dining Set
If your patio or yard has a bit more space, this five-piece outdoor dining set can seat four people comfortably. The pieces have a powder-coated frame for improved durability, and the chairs feature a padded sling material to keep you comfortable. The tempered glass tabletop not only looks great but is also sturdy.
Sold by Home Depot
Safavieh 7-Piece Outdoor Living Horus Dining Set
This bar-style outdoor dining set has a rectangular table and six cushioned stools. It works well for small areas because the stools slide under the table when not in use to free up space. The pieces are all neutral gray and work well with various decor styles and color palettes.
Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
- The Sol 72 Elgin Square 4-Person Outdoor Dining Set includes a bar-height table and sling-style bar stools that won’t take up much space in your outdoor dining area.
- This Christopher Knight Home Coronado Acacia Wood Bistro Set is perfect for having intimate meals on your patio or balcony.
- With lightweight, foldable chairs and a small, round table, the Best Choice 3-Piece Bistro Dining Furniture Set boasts a compact, simple design that can work in nearly any yard.
- The Hampton Bay Crestridge 3-Piece Steel Padded Sling Outdoor Bistro Set has a balcony-height table and two padded chairs for comfortable meals in even the smallest space.
- This Sol 72 Outdoor Mandeville Rectangular 2-Person Outdoor Dining Set is designed to save space on smaller patios, balconies and decks and features a metal frame that’s mildew-, rust- and water-resistant.
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-09T11:36:50+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/reviews/br/office-br/furniture-br/outdoor-dining-sets-ideal-for-smaller-spaces/ |
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks acquired the draft rights to Washington State center Mouhamed Gueye from the Boston Celtics in exchange for a future second-round pick Thursday night during the NBA draft, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Gueye, from Senegal, moved to California when he was 16. He averaged 14.3 points and 8.4 rebounds for Washington State as a sophomore last season.
Because the trade was not official, Hawks general manager Landry Fields could not comment on Gueye when discussing Atlanta’s selections in the draft.
The Hawks selected guard Kobe Bufkin of Michigan in the first round, at No. 15 overall. The Hawks selected wing player Seth Lundy from Penn State at No. 46 overall.
___ | 2023-06-23T06:25:30+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nba/2023/06/23/hawks-celtics-trade-gueye/9e5afd60-1184-11ee-8d22-5f65b2e2f6ad_story.html |
Program has granted more than $4.5 million in scholarship funds
CINCINNATI, Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) Foundation ("Foundation") today announced the Kroger Scholars for the 2022-2023 academic year, awarding $300,000 to 120 students. All scholars are the children of Kroger associates and receive $2,500 toward any accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational program. Launched in 2008, the Kroger Scholars Program has awarded more than $4.5 million in scholarship funds.
"I feel as though I have grown up at Kroger," said Averie Rutter, a Kroger Scholar pursing a degree in animal science at Findlay University. "My parents have worked there for the last 30 years. This will help me not only further my education, but it will also help me pursue my passion."
The 2022-2023 Kroger Scholars will be represented at more than 80 institutions across the nation. Students were selected based on a broad range of criteria, including volunteering, civic service, extra-curricular activities, academic performance and work experience.
"We are proud to recognize this year's Kroger Scholars for their commitment to academic excellence and service to their schools and communities," said, Patty Leesemann, Head of Philanthropy at Kroger. "We hope these funds make it a little easier for our associates and their children as they transition studies beyond high school, ultimately building a brighter future for us all."
A company-wide program presented by The Kroger Co. Foundation, Kroger Scholars is open to children (biological, adopted and stepchildren) of associates in the Kroger Family of Stores who have two years of service and have worked at least 1,000 hours per year. To learn more about The Kroger Co. Foundation, visit here.
Kroger also offers a tuition reimbursement program for its associates, contributing up to $21,000 for both part-time and full-time associates. Kroger encourages lifelong learning for all, enabling everything from GEDs to Ph.D. degrees. Learn more about pursuing a career at Kroger here.
About Kroger:
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over nine million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co. | 2022-11-16T20:09:33+00:00 | kcbd.com | https://www.kcbd.com/prnewswire/2022/11/16/kroger-co-foundation-awards-300000-scholarships-children-kroger-associates/ |
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — There's a new show coming to town, and it's sure to blow you away.
Flip Circus will be at Sugarloaf Mills in Lawrenceville from July 29-Aug. 15.
From the imaginations of the Vazquez Family, Flip Circus is a new and exciting show with a modern, yet vintage feel. Inside the iconic red and white tent, it's an intimate show that gives spectators an up-close and personal interaction with the artists.
There are shows everyday. This is the perfect event to get the whole family together for before summer ends.
Enter to win a Family Pack of tickets to Flip Circus at Sugarloaf Mills. Each family pack consists of two adult and two children tickets. Twelve winners will be selected. Enter to win here!
WXIA FLIP CIRCUS WATCH AND WIN OFFICIAL RULES
1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING. SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
2. Eligibility. Subject to the additional restrictions below, the WXIA “Flip Circus" Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes”) is open to legal U.S. residents of the State of Georgia who are 18 years or older at the time of entry. Employees and contractors of WXIA (“Sponsor”), LatinBrands, TEGNA, Inc., and each of their respective affiliated companies, and advertising and promotional agencies, and the immediate family members of, and any persons domiciled with, any such employees or contractors, are not eligible to enter or to win.
3. How To Enter. The Sweepstakes will begin at 12:00 A.M. (E.T.) on July 25, 2022 and end at 11:59 P.M. (E.T) on Aug 5, 2022 (the “Sweepstakes Period”).
Internet Entry: By visiting the official contest registration page featured on 11alive.com: 11alive.com/contests (and completing all the required information and following all posted instructions. Your device must accept cookies, or any successor or similar technology, which may be used for the purpose of entry tracking. Ad blocking software on your computer needs to be disabled so that it doesn’t interfere with processing your entry. Entrants must complete the entry form and any other required fields and then submit your entry by clicking on the “SUBMIT” button. By entering, you agree to the terms of these Official Rules and to receive e-mails from Sponsor or those directed by Sponsor. You can opt-out of the receipt of such e-mails by following the directions on the Sweepstakes website or in any email received from Sponsor.
Entries must be received by 11:59 P.M. (E.T) on Aug. 5, 2022. Multiple entries by means of software generation or other automated processes will be disregarded.
Sponsor will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, misdirected or illegible entries. All entries become property of Sponsor and none will be returned.
4. Winner Selection. Twelve (12) Winners will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received each day during the duration of the Sweepstakes Period.
5. Prizes and Odds. A total of Twelve (12) Grand Prize winner will receive one Family Pack of tickets (2 adult, 2 children tickets) to Flip Circus (ARV: $160 ). Taxes, and all other costs not explicitly included above are not part of the prize and are the sole responsibility of winners.
Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received.
6. Winner Notification and Acceptance. Each winner will be notified on or about July 25- Aug. 8, 2022 at the email address submitted at time of entry. Winners must respond within 24 hours of notification. Failure to respond within such time period or return of email prize notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification of such winner and an alternate winner may be selected from among all remaining eligible entries. Winners will be referred to LatinBrands for details of prize fulfillment. Winners may be required to present a valid photo identification. Winners must pick up their prize by Aug. 12, 2022. Prize is not redeemable for cash. Winners may waive their right to receive prizes. Prizes are not assignable and nontransferable. No substitutions allowed by winners. Prizes and individual components of prize packages are subject to availability and Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value. Winners are solely responsible for reporting and payment of any taxes on prizes. Prize Winners will be required to complete an affidavit of eligibility/liability and publicity release which must be returned as instructed by Sponsor. Failure to sign and return the affidavit or release, or to comply with any term or condition of these Official Rules, may result in a winner's disqualification, the forfeiture of his or her interest in the prize, and the award of the prize to a substitute Winner. Except where prohibited, acceptance of any prize constitutes Winners' consent to the publication of his or her name, biographical information and likeness in any media for any commercial or promotional purpose, without limitation the Internet, or further compensation. Prizes not won and claimed by eligible Winners in accordance with these Official Rules will not be awarded and will remain the property of Sponsor.
7. Participation. By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this Sweepstakes as solely determined by Sponsor Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Sweepstakes at any time, for any reason. Should the Sweepstakes be terminated prior to the stated expiration date, Sponsor reserves the right to award prizes based on the entries received before the termination date. Sponsors will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage-due, misdirected or illegible entries (either photos or ballots), or for failure to receive entries or votes or other electronic communications due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or Sponsor. In the event of a dispute, all online entries will be deemed to have been submitted by the owner of the ISP account from which they were sent. For these purposes, an ISP account holder shall mean the natural person assigned to such ISP account by the Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning ISP addresses for the domain associated with such ISP account. Any questions regarding the number of entries or votes submitted by the owner of an ISP account shall be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, and Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entries by persons determined to be tampering with or abusing any aspect of the Sweepstakes. Sponsor is not held responsible for the delay, cancellation or rescheduling of events. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook.
8. Construction. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any such provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, these rules shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was not contained therein.
9. Sponsor. The sweepstakes is sponsored by WXIA. The decisions of Sponsor regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the Sweepstakes shall be final and binding in all respects. Sponsor will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these Official Rules or in other materials relating to the Sweepstakes. For a list of winners (available after November 29, 2022) or a copy of these Official Rules, visit 11Alive.com/contests or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to “Winners List/Official Rules", 11Alive Sweepstakes, 1 Monroe Place Atlanta, GA 30324. If you have any questions regarding this Sweepstakes, please contact (amcquade@11alive.com) or at (404) 892-1611. | 2022-07-25T18:15:02+00:00 | 11alive.com | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/contests/enter-to-win-family-pack-of-tickets-to-flip-circus/85-4c6ff761-f923-4beb-806a-46124955c475 |
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The U.S. House is voting on the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday, which would enshrine protections for same-sex marriage nationwide.
Democrats say the bill is necessary to protect marriage equality but it’s unclear if it will pass in the U.S. Senate.
Congressman Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.) said he and his husband were engaged for 22 years before they could get married. Democrats say Congress must protect the right of all Americans to marry the person they love.
“Every member of Congress will get to stand and be counted today and you can choose between equality or discrimination,” Maloney said. “When I was elected as a member of Congress in 2012, my husband Randy couldn’t have health insurance through this body.”
In 2015 the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, but Democrats fear the court could reverse that decision, just as it did with abortion.
“Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly called on the court to reconsider its decisions protecting other fundamental rights, including the right to same-sex marriage,” said Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.).
Republicans argue a new law isn’t needed because same-sex marriage isn’t threatened.
“It’s unnecessary, it’s divisive and it’s misleading,” said Congressman Mike Johnson (R-La.).
But Democrats say they don’t want to wait to find out.
“We will not allow this right-wing obsession to impose their personal religious views on people’s private lives to go any further,” said Congresswoman Silvia Garcia (D-Tex.).
After passage in the House, the Respect for Marriage Act will head to the Senate, where Republican Susan Collins is a sponsor. | 2022-07-19T23:07:58+00:00 | pahomepage.com | https://www.pahomepage.com/washington/washington-dc/u-s-house-voting-on-marriage-equality-protections/ |
WFO EUREKA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Friday, December 2, 2022
_____
FREEZE WATCH
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Eureka CA
1011 AM PST Thu Dec 1 2022
...FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH
FRIDAY MORNING...
* WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 29 possible.
* WHERE...Northern Humboldt Coast and Mendocino Coast Counties.
* WHEN...From this evening through Friday morning.
* IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops and
other sensitive vegetation.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. Provide
adequate shelter for outdoor pets or consider bringing them
indoors.
Frost Advisories and Freeze Warnings are issued during the local
growing season as defined by climatology and local agriculture
experts. Once the growing season has ended these statements will
no longer be issued until the spring.
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | 2022-12-01T18:29:49+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/weather/article/CA-WFO-EUREKA-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17624352.php |
Brandon Miller rapidly became an elite NBA draft prospect in his lone season at Alabama.
He headlines The Associated Press' list of forwards and could go as high as second overall behind presumptive No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama. There are other one-and-done prospects such as Villanova's Cam Whitmore, Houston's Jarace Walker and Central Florida's Taylor Hendricks as potential top-10 picks.
Here's a look at the top forwards in the draft:
BRANDON MILLER, Alabama
STRENGTHS: Miller, 20, went from McDonald's All-American to AP first-team All-American. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 38.4% from 3-point range and 85.9% from the foul line. He also showed the ability to play off the dribble or attack the rim, along with quality play on the defensive end behind the length to chase multiple positions. It adds up to a mix of shooting, athleticism and size suited for today's NBA game that demands versatility on the wing.
CONCERNS: He needs bulk on a 200-pound frame to handle bumps and physical play at both ends. He faded late after dealing with a groin injury, including averaging 9.3 points on 8-for-41 shooting (19.5%) and going 3 for 19 from 3-point range in three NCAA Tournament games as the Crimson Tide fell in the Sweet 16 despite being the top overall seed.
There's also his ties to a significant off-court issue: A murder case that led to former Tide player Darius Miles and another man being indicted on capital murder charges. A police investigator testified in February that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller hasn't been charged with wrongdoing and continued to play, though the ongoing case brought intense scrutiny through the second half of the season on Miller and the Alabama program.
CAM WHITMORE, Villanova
STRENGTHS: The McDonald's All-American got a late start to the season due to thumb surgery, but became the Big East freshman of the year. Whitmore, who turns 19 in July, has an NBA-ready frame (roughly 6-6 without shoes, 235 pounds) and athleticism to attack off the dribble. He ranked tied for third at the NBA combine in max vertical leap (40.5 inches). And he shot 37.3% on 3s after becoming a starter for the final 20 games.
CONCERNS: He shot just 65.9% at the foul line as a starter and didn't consistently create opportunities, having nearly as many games with no attempts (six) as those with three or more (seven).
JARACE WALKER, Houston
STRENGTHS: The McDonald's All-American joined Kelvin Sampson's Cougars program built on defense, rebounding and toughness — a formula typically better suited to older players. Yet the 6-7 forward fit right in as a 250-pound presence. He measured with a better than 7-2 wingspan at the NBA combine, ranked tied for third in standing vertical leap (34.5 inches) and tied for ninth in max vertical leap (38.0). Walker, 19, is strong enough to tussle with bigger opponents and nimble enough to switch onto wings.
CONCERNS: Walker's stroke is still developing. He shot 34.7% from 3-point range and just 66.3% from the foul line.
TAYLOR HENDRICKS, Central Florida
STRENGTHS: The four-star recruit was a surprise, averaging 15.1 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 47.8% from the field and 78.2% from the line. Notably, he shot 39.4% from behind the arc and had only four games out of 33 in which he failed to hit a 3. Measuring slightly taller than 6-8 without shoes at the combine, Hendricks has athleticism and length (better than a 7-foot wingspan) that could help him become a two-way power forward for today's floor-spaced game.
CONCERNS: The 19-year-old needs strength to a slender 213-pound frame. He also faced an AP Top 25 opponent twice all season, offering only a glimpse of how he handles top competition.
OTHERS OF NOTE
— GRADEY DICK: The Kansas one-and-done wing made 40.3% of 3-pointers as a potential lottery pick who can space the floor and potentially play as a guard. The 19-year-old measured at better than 6-6 without shoes at the NBA combine, though his minutes could depend on how he holds up defensively.
— BILAL COULIBALY: Wembanyama’s teammate in France offers his own intriguing skillset. Still just 18, the athletic 6-8 wing is a first-round prospect with disruptive-defender potential and the potential to be a quality 3-point shooter.
— G.G. JACKSON: The 18-year-old was set to be the nation's No. 1 recruit for this season at North Carolina. Instead, he reclassified to enroll early and played a sometimes-frustrating season at South Carolina. The first-round prospect has a 6-8 frame with a nearly 7-foot wingspan, athleticism and shot-creating potential.
— KRIS MURRAY: The twin brother to Sacramento Kings rookie Keegan Murray more than doubled his scoring at Iowa last season (20.2, up from 9.7). The wing — who measured nearly 6-8 with a nearly 7-foot wingspan at the combine — turns 23 in August, hit 35% of his 3s over the past two seasons and could go in the back half of the first round.
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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP | 2023-06-19T12:47:28+00:00 | springfieldnewssun.com | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/alabamas-brandon-miller-tops-aps-list-of-talented-1-and-done-forwards-in-the-nba-draft/BW2RZARELFE75L3CUQ5OITW77Q/ |
The 2023 Wells Fargo Championship Odds & Preview: Tyrrell Hatton
After the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship, Tyrrell Hatton is atop the leaderboard with a score of -8.
Looking to bet on Tyrrell Hatton at the Wells Fargo Championship this week? Read on for the betting trends you need before you make your picks.
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Tyrrell Hatton Insights
- Over his last 18 rounds, Hatton has finished below par on 11 occasions, while also posting two bogey-free rounds and 13 rounds with a better-than-average score.
- He has carded the best score of the day twice while finishing in the top-five three times and with a top-10 score in four of his last 18 rounds played.
- Over his last 18 rounds, Hatton has finished within three strokes of the best score of the round three times, and within five strokes of the top score of the day on six occasions.
- Hatton has finished in the top five twice in his past five tournaments.
- He has qualified for the weekend in four of his past five tournaments.
- In his past five events, Hatton finished within three shots of the leader once and five or fewer strokes back twice. He carded a score better than average three times.
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Over the last year
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Wells Fargo Championship Insights and Stats
- Hatton has had an average finish of 40th in his past two appearances at this tournament.
- In his most recent two attempts at this event, he's made the cut each time.
- Hatton finished 37th in his most recent appearance at this tournament (2022).
- This course is set up to play at 7,538 yards, 243 more than the average course on the Tour in the past year.
- Players have carded 69.75 strokes per round and an average score of -5 in the past year on the Tour. Events hosted on this course have a higher scoring average of -1.
- The average course Hatton has played i the last year (7,301 yards) is 237 yards shorter than the course he'll be playing this week (7,538).
- In the past year, the events he has played have had a scoring average of -2 among finishers, lower than the -1 average at this course.
Hatton's Last Time Out
- Hatton was rather mediocre on the 16 par-3 holes at the RBC Heritage, averaging par to finish in the 46th percentile of the field.
- He finished in the 81st percentile on par 4s at the RBC Heritage, averaging 3.89 strokes on those 44 holes.
- On the 12 par-5 holes at the RBC Heritage, Hatton shot better than 60% of the field (averaging 4.58 strokes).
- Hatton did not record a birdie on any of the 16 par-3s at the RBC Heritage (the field averaged 1.5).
- On the 16 par-3s at the RBC Heritage, Hatton did not have a bogey or worse (the other golfers averaged two).
- Hatton's nine birdies or better on par-4s at the RBC Heritage were more than the field average of 6.2.
- In that last tournament, Hatton carded a bogey or worse on four of 44 par-4s (the field averaged 5.1).
- Hatton finished the RBC Heritage outperforming the field average of birdies or better on par-5s (3.8) with six on the 12 par-5 holes.
- On the 12 par-5s at the RBC Heritage, Hatton carded one bogey or worse, more than the field average of 0.7.
Wells Fargo Championship Time and Date Info
- Date: May 4- 7, 2023
- Course: Quail Hollow Club
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
- Par: 71 / 7,448 yards
- Hatton Odds to Win: +650 (Bet now with BetMGM!)
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All statistics in this article reflect Hatton's performance prior to the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-06T06:37:18+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/sports/betting/2023/05/06/tyrrell-hatton-wells-fargo-championship-pga-odds/ |
TORONTO (AP) — A suburban Toronto man who was killed by police after authorities say he fatally shot five people in his condominium building, including three members of the condo board, had a court hearing scheduled for the next day to determine if the building’s management could evict him.
Francesco Villi, 73, attacked neighbors on three floors of his building on Sunday night, killing three men and two women and wounding a sixth person, the 66-year-old wife of the board president, who is expected to survive, according to officials. One of the officers who responded to a call about an active shooter inside the building in the suburb of Vaughan shot and killed Villi, authorities said.
York Regional Police identified the slain victims as Rita Camilleri, 57; Vittorio Panza, 79; Russell Manock, 75; Lorraine Manock, 71; and Naveed Dada, 59.
The attack happened the day before a scheduled online court hearing in which lawyers for the condominium corporation were set to argue that it should be allowed to evict Villi because he had spent years harassing building employees, board members and other neighbors. In court documents, the building’s lawyers said Villi ignored court orders to end the harassment and stop posting online about a longstanding dispute he had with the condo’s management.
Villi long claimed in videos posted on social media and in court documents that vibrations, noises and emissions from the building’s electrical room under his unit were making him sick, and that board members and the building’s developer were to blame.
According to court documents, at least two condominium managers quit because of him, and security guards quit or changed shifts to avoid him. Residents also said Villi would swear at them and film them.
“The Condominium submits that a penalty directing Villi to sell and vacate his unit within 90 days of the resolution of this matter is the only meaningful punishment that will serve the dual purposes of a finding of contempt,” lawyers for the building wrote to the court. “While this is an extreme penalty, the Condominium submits that it is proportional to Villi’s offence. He has proven himself to be ungovernable.”
In rambling videos he posted on Facebook in the hours and days leading up the attack, Villi talked about the legal dispute. The posts include recordings of phone conversations he had with lawyers about his case. In one video he posted Sunday, the lawyer for the building noted that the condo corporation had asked him to sell his unit and move out.
The lawyer noted that there was an online court hearing in his case scheduled for Monday and that he needed to go to the condo management office, where the manager would help him log in.
Villi claimed during the call that he wasn’t prepared to present his case at the hearing. He also asked what the board wanted from him, to which the lawyer said it needed him to stop harassing and shouting at people, and to pay the condo corporation’s legal fees. She noted that the case had dragged on for years.
“Tell me what this board of directors want from me so that I can die at peace,” he said during the call with the lawyer. “I cannot take care of myself anymore. What does the board of directors want from me? You tell me, you write it down and I give it to them. I have no energy, no strength to prepare materials or to go to court at this time to defend myself.”
The lawyer responded that an updated bill of costs would be provided and that he needed to agree to stop harassing and recording people. “The corporation is asking you to sell your unit and move out. That’s the request at this point because you are not capable of living in the community and behaving,” the lawyer said.
John Di Nino, who is president of the board, said he thinks the gunman meant to shoot him instead of his wife, but she answered the door.
“I was the likely target, not my wife,” Di Nino said. “But he moved on after shooting her. That’s the thing that is running through my head right now.”
Di Nino said he knew everyone who was shot.
“All of those deceased people are friends of mine,” he said. “They were people who served on the condo board with me.”
Di Nino said Villi had worried the board for a while.
“We were all concerned about his behavior, but no one could have ever imagined this outcome,” he said.
The grandfather of Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenseman Victor Mete was among those killed. Panza was Mete’s maternal grandfather.
Mike Colle, a Toronto city councillor, said Panza had worked on some of his campaigns and they got to know each other.
“He was your proud, hardworking immigrant Italian father and grandfather,” he said.
Camilleri, Manock and Dada were named among several defendants in a court ruling from July that dismissed Villi’s accusations against the condo board members as “frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process.”
Mass shootings are rare in Canada, and Toronto has long prided itself as being one of the world’s safest big cities. Vaughan is just north of Toronto.
“Conflicts of this nature between residents, boards, and management are rare, but are resolved through internal discussion, mediators, and the courts. An escalation of this nature is unheard of and deeply distressing,” said Lyndsey McNally, Board President of the Canadian Condominium Institute’s Toronto chapter, the largest national condo association. | 2022-12-21T13:55:16+00:00 | texomashomepage.com | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/international/ap-canada-condo-killer-faced-possible-eviction-before-shooting/ |
It's not possible to remove all traces of lead from the food supply, because the heavy metal is found throughout the environment and can be absorbed by plants. So traces are found in the vegetables, fruits and grains that are used to make baby food.
But as toxic metal exposure can be harmful to developing brains, the Food and Drug Administration is issuing new guidelines to reduce children's exposure to the lowest level possible.
The new FDA guidance calls for limiting lead concentrations in all processed foods intended for babies and children less than two years old. Lead concentrations should now be limited to 10 parts per billion in fruits, vegetables and meats packaged in baby food jars, pouches, tubs and boxes. The target is 20 parts per billion for dry cereals.
The FDA estimates these lower levels could result in a 24 to 27% reduction in exposure to lead resulting in "long-term, meaningful and sustainable reductions in the exposure to this contaminant from these foods," according to a statement by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf.
"We know that the less amount of these metals in babies' bodies, the better," says Dr. Aaron Bernstein, a pediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. So, he says the goal should be to minimize how much lead a child is exposed to.
"Parents need to recognize that foods have metals in them naturally in some cases," he says. So it's best "to feed your child a variety of foods to the extent that's possible." Some foods will have more lead than others and a varied diet is also good for nutrition — so following "good nutritional guidance will also reduce exposure to these metals," Bernstein says.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has several tips for parents on how to reduce children's exposure to heavy metals: Serve a variety of foods, read labels, switch up your infant cereals and check your water supply for heavy metals.
In addition offer toddlers and young children sliced or pureed fruit instead of fruit juice, because some fruit juices can contain concerning levels of heavy metals.
"Fruit juices can have as much, if not more of these very metals we're trying to minimize," Bernstein says. And he says juice is a "sugar hit" for kids, so nutritionally it's a good thing to avoid.
The FDA says there has already been a dramatic decline in lead exposure from foods since the mid-1980s. Lead was phased out of gasoline and paint decades ago and there's currently lots of federal funding to replace old water pipes that contain lead, pushed through partly in response to shocking stories of lead poisoning in places like Flint, Michigan.
Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician at NYU Langone Health, says the FDA is moving in the right direction with these new targets, but we've known about these toxins for decades, he says.
"As much as this is a baby step forward in limiting toxic exposures for children's health, the FDA has been glacial in its pace of addressing newer and emerging contaminants," he says.
Chemicals such as phthalates which are used in packaging can find their way into food. Trasande says we need to know how these compounds may also be impacting children's health.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-01-25T12:00:22+00:00 | klcc.org | https://www.klcc.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-01-25/the-fda-proposes-new-targets-to-limit-lead-in-baby-food |
New bottling line set to be installed at Winston-Salem production facility; create new jobs
RALEIGH, N.C., July 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC (PBV) announced today a $35 million investment to install a new state-of-the-art bottling line at its production facility in Winston-Salem, N.C. The line will improve efficiencies in the company's manufacturing operations by optimizing production capacity for some of the bottler's largest growing brands, including Aquafina and Lipton Tea, and PBV-owned brand Nature's Twist.
"This investment is a promise to our customers and consumers that we will continue to meet their beverage needs and demonstrates our long-term commitment to the region and the State of North Carolina," said Derek Hill, President & CEO of PBV. "We're excited about the opportunities that this new line will afford us as we focus on innovation and improving efficiencies. This investment allows us to continue operating at our best and ensures stable and well-paying jobs for years to come."
The new bottling line will produce millions of cases of beverages per year and can manufacture bottles made from 100-percent recycled material. PBV expects to add up to 10 new full-time jobs upon completion of the project.
"Staying connected to the needs of our customers and consumers is at the forefront of how PBV runs its operations," said Matthew Bucherati, Senior Vice President of Operations & Supply Chain at PBV. "Running our operations responsibly and sustainably is paramount. This new line incorporates the latest bottling technology, allowing us to keep up with demand while remaining good stewards in communities where we operate. I'm very proud of this investment and what we're able to deliver to our customers and consumers."
PBV acquired the 526,000 sq. ft. production facility in Winston-Salem, N.C. in 2012. In 2021, the company leased an additional 316,000 sq. ft. warehouse extension due to increased storage needs.
Construction of the new bottling line is scheduled to start in 2023 and is expected to be operational by the end of 2024.
Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC (PBV) is the largest privately-held manufacturer, seller, and distributor of PepsiCo beverages in North America. A joint venture of Suntory Group and PepsiCo, PBV's portfolio includes Pepsi-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Starbucks, Lipton Teas, Gatorade, Cheerwine, Orangina, and more. Additionally, PBV-owned brands, including Nature's Twist, Twisted Punch, and Sparkling OH! are distributed to the Lower 48 states and Canada through its subsidiary, Ventures Food & Beverage. Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., PBV has operations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware and over 2,700 employees. Learn more at www.pepsibottlingventures.com.
Contact: Matthew Kagel
919.865.2432
media@pbvllc.com
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SOURCE Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC | 2022-07-11T21:35:25+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/07/11/pepsi-bottling-ventures-llc-invests-35-million-expand-operating-capacity/ |
On his new food and culture travel series “Nomad” on CNN, sommelier and chef Carlton McCoy says he reconnected his African-American heritage to ancestral traditions and history while traveling to West Africa.
We speak to McCoy about his taking many paths rarely traveled on his journeys across the globe.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2022-06-15T18:42:05+00:00 | delawarepublic.org | https://www.delawarepublic.org/2022-06-15/sommelier-and-chef-carlton-mccoy-explores-unique-places-around-the-globe-through-food-in-nomad |
NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Weber Inc. (NYSE: WEBR) pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and related prospectus (collectively, the "Registration Statement") issued in connection with Weber's August 2021 initial public offering (the "IPO") of the important September 27, 2022.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Weber securities pursuant and/or traceable to the Registration Statement you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Weber class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=7923 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 27, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, the IPO Registration Statement featured false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Weber was reasonably likely to implement price increases; (2) as a result, consumer demand for Weber's products was reasonably likely to decrease; (3) due to the resulting inventory buildup, Weber was reasonably likely to run promotions to "enhance retail sell through"; (4) the foregoing would adversely impact Weber's financial results; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about Weber's business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
To join the Weber class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=7923 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
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SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. | 2022-08-29T23:14:45+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/prnewswire/2022/08/29/webr-shareholder-alert-rosen-global-investor-counsel-encourages-weber-inc-investors-secure-counsel-before-important-deadline-securities-class-action-webr/ |
Russia unleashed a string of attacks against Ukrainian rail and fuel installations Monday, striking crucial infrastructure far from the front line of its eastern offensive.
Meanwhile, two fires were reported at oil facilities in western Russia, not far from the Ukrainian border. It was not clear what caused the blazes.
As both sides in the 2-month-old war brace for what could be a grinding battle of attrition in the country’s eastern industrial heartland, top U.S. officials pledged more help to ensure Ukraine prevails.
In a bold visit to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, the American secretaries of state and defense said Washington had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition — non-U.S. ammo, mainly if not entirely to fit Ukraine’s Soviet-era weapons — along with more than $300 million in financing to buy more supplies.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday after the meeting that the West’s united support for Ukraine and pressure on Moscow are having “real results.”
“When it comes to Russia’s war aims, Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding,” he added.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed the American support but said that “as long as Russian soldiers put a foot on Ukrainian soil, nothing is enough.”
Kuleba warned that if Western powers want Ukraine to win the war and “stop Putin in Ukraine and not to allow him to go further, deeper into Europe,” then countries must speed up the delivery of the weapons requested by Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. and its allies of trying to “split Russian society and to destroy Russia from within.”
When Russia invaded on Feb. 24, its apparent goal was the lightning capture of Kyiv and perhaps the toppling of its government. But the Ukrainians, with the help of Western weapons, bogged Putin’s troops down and thwarted their push to Kyiv.
Moscow now says its goal is to capture the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region in the east. While both sides said the campaign in the east is underway, Russia has yet to mount an all-out ground offensive and has not achieved any major breakthroughs.
Ukrainian troops holed up in a steel plant in the strategic city of Mariupol are tying down Russian forces and apparently keeping them from being added to the offensive elsewhere in the Donbas.
Britain said it believes 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Moscow began its invasion. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said 25% of the Russian combat units sent to Ukraine “have been rendered not combat effective,” and Russia had lost more than 2,000 armored vehicles and over 60 helicopters and fighter planes.
Ukrainian officials have said about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed as of mid-April.
Over the weekend, Russian forces launched new airstrikes on the steel plant in a bid to dislodge the estimated 2,000 fighters. Some 1,000 civilians were also sheltering in the steelworks, and the Russian military pledged to open a humanitarian corridor Monday for them to leave.
The Russian offer was met with skepticism by Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukraine does not consider the route safe and added that Russia had breached agreements on similar evacuation routes before. She called on the United Nations to oversee an evacuation.
Mariupol has endured fierce fighting since the start of the war because of its strategic location on the Sea of Azov. In addition to freeing up Russian troops, its capture would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.
On Monday, Russia focused its firepower elsewhere, with missiles and war planes striking far behind the front lines, in an apparent bid to slow the movement of Ukrainian supplies toward the east and disrupt the flow of fuel needed by the country’s forces.
Oleksandr Kamyshin, the head of the state-run Ukrainian Railways, said five railway facilities in central and western Ukraine were hit early Monday. That included a missile attack near the western city of Lviv.
Ukrainian authorities said that at least five people were killed by Russian strikes in the central Vynnytsia region.
Russia also destroyed an oil refinery in Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, along with fuel depots there, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. In all, Russian warplanes destroyed 56 Ukrainian targets overnight, he said.
In Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova, several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades hit the Ministry of State Security. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and no injuries were immediately reported.
Transnistria is a strip of land with about 470,000 people along the Ukrainian border. Russia has about 1,500 troops based there. Last week, Rustam Minnekayev, a Russian military commander, said the Kremlin wants full control of southern Ukraine, which he said would open the way to Transnistria.
Phillips P. O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, said the war is, for now, settling into a campaign of incremental battlefield losses and gains.
“The two sides are sort of every day weakening each other,” he said. “So it’s a question of what can you bring in that’s new” and “what can you destroy on the other side.”
Meanwhile, a major fire erupted early Monday at an oil depot in a Russian city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Ukrainian border, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said. No cause was given for the blaze. Photos showed a huge, churning plume of thick smoke.
The oil depot in Bryansk is owned by a subsidiary of the Russian state company Transneft, which operates the Druzhba pipeline that carries crude west to other European countries. The ministry said the blaze damaged a depot containing diesel fuel. It said the region has enough diesel for 15 days.
It wasn’t clear if the depot was part of the pipeline infrastructure, but Polish pipelines operator PERN said deliveries to Poland have not been affected.
A Russian news report said another oil storage facility in Bryansk also caught fire early Monday.
Last month, Russia charged that two Ukrainian helicopter gunships hit an oil depot in Russia’s Belgorod region, close to the Ukrainian border.
In a video address Monday, Zelenskyy described his meeting with Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as “encouraging and, importantly, effective.”
The Ukrainian leader added that they agreed “on further steps to strengthen the armed forces of Ukraine and meet all the priority needs of our army.”
With Russia’s shift toward the Donbas, Zelenskyy is now focused on more heavy weaponry, such as tanks and artillery.
“We want to see Ukraine remain a sovereign country, a democratic country able to protect its sovereign territory,” Austin said. “We want to see Russia weakened to the point where it can’t do things like invade Ukraine.”
In a boost for Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron comfortably won a second term Sunday over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, who had pledged to loosen France’s ties to the European Union and NATO.
Le Pen had spoken out against EU sanctions on Russian energy and had faced scrutiny during the campaign over her previous friendliness with the Kremlin.
___
Associated Press journalists Yuras Karmanau and Jon Gambrell in Lviv, Ukraine, and AP staff around the world contributed. | 2022-04-25T23:00:23+00:00 | newson6.com | https://www.newson6.com/story/6266e72048ffa501931d120b/russia-hits-rail-fuel-facilities-in-attacks-deep-in-ukraine |
MSU resumes classes following mass shooting
EAST LANSING, Mich. (WNEM) - For the first time since last Monday’s mass shooting at Michigan State University, instruction on campus is taking place.
Classes at MSU resumed for the first time since last week’s mass shooting that left three students dead and five others injured. Sophomore Kian Bukowski decided to show up for instruction in person on Monday, Feb. 20.
We’ve learned a lot of professors gave students the option of attending class virtually, while other students made plans to join a protest at the state capitol. Bukowski said he was glad to return to campus.
“Yeah, it’s been really nice. The school has done a lot to kind of make it a very comfortable and easy transition. So I really enjoyed it. It’s been a really easy and straight transition. I was excited to come back after seeing all that they’re doing for us,” Bukowski said.
He said it has been a long week, but he appreciates all the support given to the Spartan community as they try their best to deal with this tragedy.
“Ups and downs. It’s like, you know, sometimes easier than others, but overall it’s been nice, the support from the community has been really good,” Bukowski said. “So it’s been much easier than it could’ve been.”
All students have been offered the credit/no credit option for this semester, which means students can receive credit for all classes without it affecting their grade point average.
Read next:
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Copyright 2023 WNEM. All rights reserved. | 2023-02-20T21:30:07+00:00 | wnem.com | https://www.wnem.com/2023/02/20/msu-resumes-classes-following-mass-shooting/ |
OAK GLEN, Calif. (AP) — Rescuers searched Wednesday for a person missing in a mudslide that swept boulders down fire-scarred slopes in Southern California mountain communities, while firefighters held back a week-old blaze that gained renewed strength and forced more evacuations along foothills in the northern part of the state.
With thunderstorms forecast and more mudslides possible, evacuation orders remained in place in parts of the San Bernardino Mountains where flash floods washed away cars and buried buildings late Monday east of Los Angeles.
Five hundred miles (805 kilometers) to the north, the Mosquito Fire destroyed structures when flames erupted Tuesday afternoon, just hours after officials had reported making “great strides” in the battle.
“The fire was held in check overnight" and crews were able to keep flames from entering the town of Foresthill, fire spokesperson Scott McLean said Wednesday. He said some buildings burned, but the exact number won't be known until damage assessment teams were able to canvas the area 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.
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The blaze was one of three large fires in the state.
In Southern California, crews searched street by street for people who might be trapped by the mudflows that washed rocks, trees and other debris with astonishing force into Forest Falls, Oak Glen and Yucaipa and left a muddy mess and untold destruction.
Homes and other buildings were damaged, including a commercial building buried so high its roof collapsed, said Eric Sherwin, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
“We have boulders that moved through that weigh multiple tons,” Sherwin said. “It could take days just to find all the cars that are missing because they are completely covered by mud.”
A video showed a slow-moving black river of sludge rolling past the sign for the Oak Glen Steakhouse and Saloon on Monday followed seconds later by a surging wave of deeper mud carrying logs. The mud appeared to be head-high in places the next day.
Sherwin said crews were searching for one missing person.
Residents who tried to return home found it tough going in the sticky mess.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Perla Halbert, whose feet were caked in mud after trying to walk to her home. “If you try and take two steps, you get submerged. You just get stuck.”
Halbert had been out of town and returned to her Oak Glen home late Monday to find the driveway covered with a few inches of mud. Her family stayed the night with family members and returned after first light to discover several feet of mud and a fence washed away.
Her husband went to buy boots and coveralls before trekking through the muck to assess the damage.
“There’s lots of rocks and so much mud. But hopefully the house itself is OK,” she said.
Officials lifted some mandatory evacuation and shelter in place orders Tuesday evening.
Workers were able to clear most of Valley of the Falls Drive — the only road to Forests Falls — and teams were assessing damage. Other major roads in the San Bernardino Mountains were reopened.
The rains were the remnants of a tropical storm that brought high winds and some badly needed rainfall to drought-stricken Southern California last week, helping firefighters largely corral the Fairview Fire that had been burning out of control about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the mudslides.
The mud flows and flash flooding occurred in parts of the San Bernardino Mountains where there are burn scars — areas where there’s little vegetation to hold the soil — from the 2020 wildfires.
The mudslides occurred about 175 miles (280 kilometers) east of Montecito, where enormous debris flows killed more than 20 people and destroyed hundreds of homes in January 2018, a month after a huge wildfire scorched hillsides.
The Fairview Fire was burning about 75 miles (121 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. The 44-square-mile (114-square-kilometer) blaze was 62% contained by Tuesday. Two people died fleeing the fire, which destroyed at least 35 homes and other structures in Riverside County.
The Mosquito Fire had grown to nearly 79 square miles (nearly 204 square kilometers), with 25% containment Tuesday night, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
More than 11,000 people have been evacuated and nearly 6,000 structures are threatened — an increase in both figures as the blaze raged Tuesday near Foresthill and Todd Valley after a spot fire jumped the Middle Fork of the American River, officials said. More than 45 homes and other buildings have been destroyed.
Increased winds Tuesday pushed out a smoke inversion layer that had been stifling the blaze and gave fresh oxygen to the flames, McLean said. The area is full of extremely dry fuels that were rapidly igniting, challenging both firefighters on the ground and aircraft.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. In the last five years, California has experienced the largest and most destructive fires in its history.
Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
For more AP coverage of the climate and environment: https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment. | 2022-09-14T16:53:35+00:00 | wcfcourier.com | https://wcfcourier.com/news/national/california-cleans-up-from-mudslides-as-fire-gains-strength/article_a0f3b745-0334-5268-978f-85d39393c8f9.html |
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A man with an axe attacked random diners at three neighboring Chinese restaurants in New Zealand, wounding four people, police and witnesses said.
Police said the man began the attack at about 9 p.m. Monday in the north Auckland suburb of Albany.
Police arrested a 24-year-old suspect at the scene and charged him with wounding, with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm. The man, a Chinese national, made a brief court appearance Tuesday. Police did not immediately offer a motive for the attack but said they had no evidence it was racially motivated.
Auckland City Hospital said Tuesday one patient from the attack remained there in a stable condition. North Shore Hospital said it had one patient with moderate injuries and a second with minor injuries, both of whom were in a stable condition, and had earlier discharged a third patient.
A diner told the New Zealand Herald newspaper he was eating dinner with a friend when the man walked in and started attacking his friend, who was seriously injured.
“I was in shock. When I realized what was happening, he tried to target me,” the man, who asked not to be named, told the Herald. “I blocked his axe with my hand. He was also trying to target my head, so I blocked the axe with my hand.”
The diner said the man with the axe chased them out of the restaurant and then turned around and walked into another restaurant.
The Herald posted an image of what appeared to be a wood-splitter style of axe lying on the sidewalk.
Surveillance footage posted by news website Stuff showed people fleeing from one of the restaurants, including one person who ran out backward holding a chair as a barricade followed closely by another person holding a weapon.
Police said they expect to file more charges against the man, who they believe acted alone. Police increased their presence in the area around the restaurants Tuesday.
“We acknowledge how frightening this incident was for those involved, and for the wider community, and we are ensuring there is support in place for both the victims and their friends and family,” Inspector Stefan Sagar said in a statement.
During his court appearance, the defendant was helped by a Chinese language interpreter. He was not required to enter a plea. He was granted temporary name suppression, a common outcome in New Zealand’s legal system.
The restaurants the man entered were Yues Dumpling Kitchen, Zhangliang Malatang and Maya Hotpot. They are among a cluster of restaurants on the street that aim to give diners low-cost options reminiscent of Chinese street food offerings. | 2023-06-20T23:25:30+00:00 | fox59.com | https://fox59.com/news/ap-top-headlines/4-wounded-after-man-with-axe-attacks-diners-at-3-new-zealand-restaurants/ |
South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem on Sunday defended her state's abortion ban, which includes an exception when the pregnant person's life is at risk but not in cases involving incest or rape.
When asked by CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" whether children similar to a 10-year-old child abuse victim who traveled from Ohio to Indiana to receive an abortion should be forced to give birth, Noem said, "This tragedy is horrific. I can't even imagine. I have never had anybody in my family or myself gone through anything like this. ... But, in South Dakota, the law today is that the abortions are illegal, except to save the life of the mother."
Noem told Bash she would not be in favor of amending the current law -- a so-called trigger law that took effect following the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade -- to add an exception for similar situations, saying, "I don't believe a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy."
But Noem did signal that a 10-year-old in the described situation may qualify for the state exception for life-threatening medical emergencies.
"I think that's something that -- yeah, that situation, the doctor, the family, the individuals closest to that will make the decisions there for that family," she told Bash.
"That's what's interesting about the time we live in right now," Noem added. "Every state will have different laws on the books. The decisions will be made by the legislators that are closest to the people. That's appropriate. It's the way our Constitution intended."
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent majority ruling that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion has led more states to implement their own abortion policies.
The ruling has already resulted in a patchwork system -- as was anticipated -- in which access to the procedure is, for many people, determined largely by whether a state is controlled by Republicans or Democrats.
Along with South Dakota, trigger abortion laws have been implemented in at least three states: Arkansas, Missouri and Wisconsin. A Mississippi trigger law is set to take effect on July 7.
Wyoming, North Dakota, Idaho, and Tennessee are awaiting state action, and legal fights over abortion restrictions are underway in more than a dozen states.
Noem was also asked Sunday about supporting paid family leave or greater financial access to child care.
"That's a discussion we're going to have. I think it's important that we back up exactly what I have been saying since I'm governor, that we want stronger families," she told Bash. "Many times, it's the financial cost, the medical cost and the leave policy that many people have a tough time supporting. But I think, in South Dakota, that the time is right."
Noem, however, said she does not back expanding Medicaid, which is on the state's ballot in November. The measure would cover low-income women without health insurance in South Dakota during and after pregnancy.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | 2022-07-04T19:41:46+00:00 | abc12.com | https://www.abc12.com/news/national/south-dakota-governor-defends-abortion-ban-when-asked-if-10-year-old-should-give-birth/article_5e33616d-fe3b-5564-b6a3-87a169604e8c.html |
JUNO BEACH, Fla., Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) announced today that it intends to sell $2.0 billion of equity units.
Each equity unit will be issued in a stated amount of $50. Each equity unit will consist of a contract to purchase NextEra Energy common stock in the future and a 5% undivided beneficial ownership interest in a NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc. debenture due Sept. 1, 2027, to be issued in the principal amount of $1,000. The debentures will be guaranteed by NextEra Energy Capital Holdings' parent company, NextEra Energy, Inc.
The holders would be required to complete the stock purchase by no later than Sept. 1, 2025, and their purchase obligations may be satisfied with proceeds raised from remarketing the debentures that comprise part of their equity units.
The net proceeds from the sale of the equity units, which are expected to be approximately $1.94 billion (after deducting the underwriting discount and other offering expenses), will be added to the general funds of NextEra Energy Capital Holdings. NextEra Energy Capital Holdings expects to use its general funds to fund investments in energy and power projects and for other general corporate purposes, including the repayment of its outstanding commercial paper obligations.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities to which this communication relates in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus and the related prospectus supplement, copies of which may be obtained from NextEra Energy, Inc., Investor Relations, 561-694-4697.
NextEra Energy, Inc.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. NextEra Energy owns Florida Power & Light Company, which is America's largest electric utility that sells more power than any other utility, providing clean, affordable, reliable electricity to approximately 5.8 million customer accounts, or more than 12 million people across Florida. NextEra Energy also owns a competitive clean energy business, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean, emissions-free electricity from seven commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. NextEra Energy has been recognized often by third parties for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity. NextEra Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry on Fortune's 2022 list of "World's Most Admired Companies," recognized on Fortune's 2021 list of companies that "Change the World" and received the S&P Global Platts 2020 Energy Transition Award for leadership in environmental, social and governance.
Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors That May Affect Future Results
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical facts, but instead represent the current expectations of NextEra Energy, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy) regarding future operating results and other future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of NextEra Energy's control. In some cases, you can identify the forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "will," "may result," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "seek," "potential," "projection," "forecast," "predict," "goals," "target," "outlook," "should," "would" or similar words or expressions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance. The future results of NextEra Energy and its business and financial condition are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, or may require it to limit or eliminate certain operations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this news release and the following: effects of extensive regulation of NextEra Energy's business operations; inability of NextEra Energy to recover in a timely manner any significant amount of costs, a return on certain assets or a reasonable return on invested capital through base rates, cost recovery clauses, other regulatory mechanisms or otherwise; impact of political, regulatory, operational and economic factors on regulatory decisions important to NextEra Energy; disallowance of cost recovery based on a finding of imprudent use of derivative instruments; effect of any reductions or modifications to, or elimination of, governmental incentives or policies that support utility scale renewable energy projects or the imposition of additional tax laws, tariffs, duties, policies or assessments on renewable energy or equipment necessary to generate it or deliver it; impact of new or revised laws, regulations, interpretations or constitutional ballot and regulatory initiatives on NextEra Energy; capital expenditures, increased operating costs and various liabilities attributable to environmental laws, regulations and other standards applicable to NextEra Energy; effects on NextEra Energy of federal or state laws or regulations mandating new or additional limits on the production of greenhouse gas emissions; exposure of NextEra Energy to significant and increasing compliance costs and substantial monetary penalties and other sanctions as a result of extensive federal regulation of its operations and businesses; effect on NextEra Energy of changes in tax laws, guidance or policies as well as in judgments and estimates used to determine tax-related asset and liability amounts; impact on NextEra Energy of adverse results of litigation; effect on NextEra Energy of failure to proceed with projects under development or inability to complete the construction of (or capital improvements to) electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities or other facilities on schedule or within budget; impact on development and operating activities of NextEra Energy resulting from risks related to project siting, planning, financing, construction, permitting, governmental approvals and the negotiation of project development agreements, as well as supply chain disruptions; risks involved in the operation and maintenance of electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities, retail gas distribution system in Florida and other facilities; effect on NextEra Energy of a lack of growth or slower growth in the number of customers or in customer usage; impact on NextEra Energy of severe weather and other weather conditions; threats of terrorism and catastrophic events that could result from terrorism, cyberattacks or other attempts to disrupt NextEra Energy's business or the businesses of third parties; inability to obtain adequate insurance coverage for protection of NextEra Energy against significant losses and risk that insurance coverage does not provide protection against all significant losses; a prolonged period of low gas and oil prices could impact NextEra Energy's gas infrastructure business and cause NextEra Energy to delay or cancel certain gas infrastructure projects and could result in certain projects becoming impaired; risk of increased operating costs resulting from unfavorable supply costs necessary to provide full energy and capacity requirement services; inability or failure to manage properly or hedge effectively the commodity risk within its portfolio; effect of reductions in the liquidity of energy markets on NextEra Energy's ability to manage operational risks; effectiveness of NextEra Energy's risk management tools associated with its hedging and trading procedures to protect against significant losses, including the effect of unforeseen price variances from historical behavior; impact of unavailability or disruption of power transmission or commodity transportation facilities on sale and delivery of power or natural gas; exposure of NextEra Energy to credit and performance risk from customers, hedging counterparties and vendors; failure of counterparties to perform under derivative contracts or of requirement for NextEra Energy to post margin cash collateral under derivative contracts; failure or breach of NextEra Energy's information technology systems; risks to NextEra Energy's retail businesses from compromise of sensitive customer data; losses from volatility in the market values of derivative instruments and limited liquidity in over-the-counter markets; impact of negative publicity; inability to maintain, negotiate or renegotiate acceptable franchise agreements; occurrence of work strikes or stoppages and increasing personnel costs; NextEra Energy's ability to successfully identify, complete and integrate acquisitions, including the effect of increased competition for acquisitions; environmental, health and financial risks associated with ownership and operation of nuclear generation facilities; liability of NextEra Energy for significant retrospective assessments and/or retrospective insurance premiums in the event of an incident at certain nuclear generation facilities; increased operating and capital expenditures and/or reduced revenues at nuclear generation facilities resulting from orders or new regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; inability to operate any of NextEra Energy's owned nuclear generation units through the end of their respective operating licenses; effect of disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets or actions by third parties in connection with project-specific or other financing arrangements on NextEra Energy's ability to fund its liquidity and capital needs and meet its growth objectives; inability to maintain current credit ratings; impairment of liquidity from inability of credit providers to fund their credit commitments or to maintain their current credit ratings; poor market performance and other economic factors that could affect NextEra Energy's defined benefit pension plan's funded status; poor market performance and other risks to the asset values of nuclear decommissioning funds; changes in market value and other risks to certain of NextEra Energy's investments; effect of inability of NextEra Energy subsidiaries to pay upstream dividends or repay funds to NextEra Energy or of NextEra Energy's performance under guarantees of subsidiary obligations on NextEra Energy's ability to meet its financial obligations and to pay dividends on its common stock; the fact that the amount and timing of dividends payable on NextEra Energy's common stock, as well as the dividend policy approved by NextEra Energy's board of directors from time to time, and changes to that policy, are within the sole discretion of NextEra Energy's board of directors and, if declared and paid, dividends may be in amounts that are less than might be expected by shareholders; NextEra Energy Partners, LP's inability to access sources of capital on commercially reasonable terms could have an effect on its ability to consummate future acquisitions and on the value of NextEra Energy's limited partner interest in NextEra Energy Operating Partners, LP; effects of disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets on the market price of NextEra Energy's common stock; and the ultimate severity and duration of public health crises, epidemics and pandemics, and its effects on NextEra Energy's business. NextEra Energy discusses these and other risks and uncertainties in its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and other Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, and this news release should be read in conjunction with such SEC filings. The forward-looking statements made in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release and NextEra Energy undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE NextEra Energy, Inc. | 2022-09-14T21:41:02+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/09/14/nextera-energy-sell-equity-units/ |
Man bowls 3 perfect games in a row
NEW CASTLE, Ind. (WTHR) – Bryan Deck spends most nights at a bowling alley in Indiana. He started bowling when he was 7 years old because his dad loved to bowl.
“I grew up around it my whole life,” Deck said. “I love the competition.”
Last week, that competitive fire took over, and he bowled three perfect games in a row.
Deck said he didn’t feel very well that night and wasn’t going to bowl. But after visiting his dad’s grave, he decided to show up for his league anyway.
He had several strikes during his warmup, but he didn’t stop there.
Deck cruised through his first perfect 300 game, and then people started noticing as he went after another.
After rolling a second perfect game, he started to run out of energy and said the nerves were really taking over.
“So, I get up there and, like I said, I said, ‘C’mon, Dad, pull me through this last game.’ And I get up there and like the fifth frame ... or the sixth frame, it was like he just jumped inside my body. It was unreal,” Deck said.
He rolled 36 consecutive strikes and became just the 39th person in the world to have three consecutive perfect games.
Before this, Deck’s personal best was 813 points in one night.
Copyright 2022 WTHR via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | 2022-06-29T18:37:01+00:00 | wbrc.com | https://www.wbrc.com/2022/06/29/man-bowls-3-perfect-games-row/ |
Woman allegedly broke into Robert De Niro’s home, tried to take Christmas gifts, police say
(Gray News) - A woman was arrested early Monday morning after breaking into legendary actor Robert De Niro’s townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, police said.
Shanice Aviles, 30, was arrested after authorities said she was spotted entering the actor’s home at around 2:45 a.m. Eastern.
Police said she was spotted taking Christmas presents from under the tree and putting them in a bag.
De Niro was home at the time and came downstairs when he heard the commotion, but did not interact with the woman, who was on a different floor.
Police said they saw Aviles walking down the street trying different doors before she forced her way into the home.
She’s already well-known to NYPD for previous burglary and larceny arrests and is credited as one of the top five burglars in the NYPD’s 19th precinct.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. CNN Newsource contributed to this report. | 2022-12-19T17:02:59+00:00 | witn.com | https://www.witn.com/2022/12/19/woman-allegedly-broke-into-robert-de-niros-home-tried-take-christmas-gifts-reports-say/ |
Which pruning saw is best?
Gardeners and landscapers know that using the right tool can make the difference between quick, efficient work and a task rife with frustration. If you’re trimming trees and shrubs that are too thick for shears, you need the cutting power of a pruning saw.
The Silky ZUBAT Professional Curved Hand Saw is a comfortable, powerful tool that’s great for outdoor work. The generous blade length and included scabbard make it easy to use and safe to carry.
What to know before you buy a pruning saw
Task needs
Different saws work better for different types of work. Consider the needs of your task before starting. Examine the thickness of the branches of your trees or shrubs, and see how easy it is to reach them. You may want to invest in more than one pruning saw to ensure you have everything you need for several different jobs.
Pruning saw types
- Hand saws are a basic type of pruning saw. They feature a toothed blade attached to a handle. Some hand saws fold up for safe, compact storage.
- Pole saws affix the blade to the end of a long pole. Gardeners use these to trim hard-to-reach limbs without the use of a ladder.
- Powered pruning saws, also called mini electric chainsaws, use a battery and motor to cut through thick limbs with minimal effort.
Blade considerations
Pruning saws often come with several different blade types. Consider what kind of work you plan to do so you know what blade configuration best suits your needs.
- Straight blades work best on easy-to-reach branches at waist or shoulder level. These saws require strength, which may be hard to generate while cutting at an arm’s length away.
- Curved blades are better when you intend to use a saw with a pole because their rounded shape hugs branches and requires less strength to make cuts.
- Chains are often found on powered pruning saws. A chain will cut through limbs and branches without requiring repetitive arm motion.
- Blade teeth also make a difference depending on the task at hand. Some saws only cut in one direction, while others feature blades that cut both ways.
Your physical ability
Sawing by hand is hard work, even if you’re cutting through thin limbs. If you have difficulty with repetitive arm motion or upper body strength, consider a power saw. However, remember that these tools are heavier than manual options due to their motor and battery.
What to look for in a quality pruning saw
Handle
Pruning saws include a handle made of hard plastic, and some provide additional padding with a rubber grip. Select a pruning saw with an ergonomic grip that fits your hand and won’t result in cramping or blisters after prolonged use.
Weight
A pruning saw should be sturdy enough to cut limbs without weighing you down too much. When selecting a saw, make sure you can distribute the weight evenly without putting too much stress on your wrist or arm.
Material
Most pruning saw blades are made out of steel. Steel is strong and resilient, but it rusts easily. Look for a saw that features a coating on the blade to prevent corrosion.
Accessories
Some pruning saws have safety sheaths or holsters to keep the blades covered in storage. Powered saws sometimes include extra batteries, chains and even safety glasses. Choose a saw that has a few additional items to give you the best value.
How much you can expect to spend on a pruning saw
Quality hand saws range from $20-$100, depending on features and configuration. Powered saws that include extra batteries and more cost around $50-$100.
Pruning saw FAQ
Do I have to oil the blade on my pruning saw?
A. Some people apply oil to their hand saw blades to clean them and help prevent rust. Telescoping pole saws require a lubricant so you can extend them with ease. Powered saws require regular chain lubrication to function properly.
Are pruning saws dangerous?
A. Pruning saws can inflict severe cuts if misused or if you grab their blades with your bare hands. You should always wear gloves and safety glasses while using a saw.
Why not just use shears or clippers?
A. Many people use shears or clippers to complete the same task as a pruning saw. Ultimately, your work requirements and personal preferences will determine which tool suits you best. Pruning saws, however, can cut through branches that are too thick for shears or clippers.
What’s the best pruning saw to buy?
Top pruning saw
Silky ZUBAT Professional Curved Hand Saw
What you need to know: This professional pruning saw features a powerful blade made out of high-grade Japanese steel.
What you’ll love: It includes a scabbard specially designed to strap to your leg for quick access. It features an ergonomic handle and a 13-inch blade.
What you should consider: It has a fixed blade that you cannot fold.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Top pruning saw for the money
Corona Tools RazorTOOTH Folding Saw
What you need to know: This economical pruning saw features a 10-inch blade.
What you’ll love: It folds up for safe storage. Additionally, it has a comfortable grip and a chrome-plated blade for added durability.
What you should consider: When folded up, part of this saw’s blade remains exposed and potentially hazardous.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Worth checking out
What you need to know: Available in three different colors, this powered pruning saw cuts through almost anything.
What you’ll love: With its 6-inch blade, this mini chainsaw can quickly cut through branches that would be too challenging to cut by hand. It includes a protective case, two batteries and an LED.
What you should consider: Buyers feel that the instructions included with this saw lack detail. And since the saw turns off automatically if it overheats, it may be difficult to use in hot weather.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Derek Walborn writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2022-07-16T17:33:39+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/reviews/best-pruning-saw/ |
The company has been recognized by both the IPA and the BCI Asia Awards in 2022
HANOI, Vietnam, June 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Flamingo Holding Group (Flamingo Group), a key player in the real estate arena both in Vietnam and around the world, has emerged as the winners of two vital categories at the prestigious International Property Awards (IPA) 2022. The Flamingo Group is also the only Vietnamese enterprise to be awarded a pair of wins at the BCI Asia Awards 2022.
At the IPA 2022 June 23 event in London, the Flamingo Group surpassed hundreds of prestigious real estate developers worldwide. It came out on top as the project with the best landscape architecture in the Asia Pacific and the best complex architecture in the Asia Pacific for the Flamingo Hai Tien located in Thanh Hoa, an investment hotspot in Vietnam.
Tasked with innovating on the luxury resort real estate model, Flamingo Group received high praise from the professional judges for its green architecture and unique "Forest in the Sky" style. In addition, the Flamingo Hai Tien project was developed according to the model of Ibiza - the largest party island in the world - with the result of a paradise of villas and plenty of entertainment and food options stretching for kilometers.
Established in the UK with nearly 30 years of operation, the IPA is considered one of the most prestigious annual real estate awards on the planet and is often indicative of a guarantee of excellent quality in global real estate.
"In addition to the sustainable profit factor and towards the highest standard of a 5-star resort, Flamingo's design is also associated with the everlasting philosophy with nature. We apply this philosophy in architectural design, green space renovation, and application of green technology in operation, bringing the difference and portraying the "Flamingo identity" in our customer's and partners' hearts." shared Mr. Truong Xuan Quy, General Director of Flamingo Land Business JSC, a subsidiary of Flamingo Group.
"Projects in Dai Lai - Vinh Phuc, Cat Ba - Hai Phong, Hai Tien - Thanh Hoa will all have the fastest access to the rigorous standards of world-renowned 5-star resorts," he added.
The BCI Asia Awards have been held annually since 2005, where the BCI Media Group and its judges help provide an overview of the architecture and construction industry in the region by recognizing the various architects & developers. They have had a significant impact on the Vietnamese market.
About Flamingo Group
Established in 1996, Flamingo Group has constantly been developing with exponential growth in many industries: leisure, real estate, tourism, hospitality services, construction, architecture, etc.
Motivated by an ambitious desire for Vietnamese brands to achieve international reach with world-class products and services, Flamingo Group is now recognized as a leading leisure realty and hospitality developer in Vietnam and the surrounding region, with a series of renowned projects and a hall of fame including 65 prestigious national and global awards.
More information on the Flamingo Group can be found at the company's website: https://flamingoholdinggroup.vn/.
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SOURCE Flamingo Group | 2022-06-24T02:37:53+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/06/24/vietnams-flamingo-group-wins-big-prestigious-international-real-estate-awards/ |
TAIPEI, Dec. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Founded in 2010, M3 Technology Inc. specializes in the design, testing, and production of power semiconductors, mainly focusing on power management ICs (PMICs). Its products are widely used in ICT, consumer electronics devices, and other fast-growing high-end PMIC applications.
This year, the company is proud to announce two milestones: listing at the Taiwan Stock Exchange and winning a Most Promising Product accolade at EE Awards Asia 2022 for its MT2600 Supercapacitor Power Manager for Backup Power Applications.
Now in its second year, EE Awards Asia celebrates the innovation, creativity, and contributions of Asia's engineering community that have made a difference in the way we work, live, and communicate over the past year.
Supercapacitors coming to the fore
According to Bo Yang, R&D Director at M3 Technology, MT2600 is basically a supercapacitor charging and discharging management IC that offers system level protection.
"As we see it, supercapacitors, after several decades of development, finally are reaching a level of performance in terms of power density, energy density, reliability, cost—to compete with the lithium-ion battery," says Yang. "We saw that opportunity so we developed this product, which can be used for a lot of applications, including automotive and mobile devices. Right now, a lot of mobile devices are beginning to use supercapacitors as their energy storage."
Yang adds that the supercapacitor is becoming a major player in energy storage applications. "It has a lot of advantages compared to battery: it has a much longer lifetime, it can be charged like half a million times without losing any performance, and it can tolerate much wider temperature ranges," he says. "And it's a much safer and more reliable energy storage."
He notes that because of those features, more and more manufacturers are using supercapacitors. The challenge is that there are not enough power management devices targeted at this these devices. "When you look at some of the users of supercapacitors, they have to use discretes like resistors and diodes to charge or balance the capacitor, or to discharge the capacitor," says Yang. Which, in the end, will cost more and occupy a lot of space.
"Another thing is that those solutions normally have a lot of self-discharge. Basically, you try to store energy in the supercapacitor to use later, but after you add all these protection circuit, and other bells and whistles, such circuits begin to drain the supercapacitor already—your stored energy is already being used by those components already. That's another problem," explains Yang.
On top of it, system protection is another issue. "When you look at how customers use supercapacitors, they bring to mind a lot of considerations. Normally, for example, they use USB to charge these supercapacitors. When you use USB, you plug it in, you have a lot of transient voltages and transient currents—and as such, you need to have a lot of other components to protect the supercapacitors from damages. Those things are extra—you have to add those things to keep the system safe," says Yang.
M3 Technology's MT2600 addresses these issues. "What we are trying to solve is, first, the management of supercapacitors—we want it to be very, very energy efficient. We don't want to waste any energy by our IC," says Yang. "Another thing is we try to integrate the protection inside our IC. Basically, MT2600 is a one-chip solution—it provides all the input overcurrent/overvoltage and output overcurrent protection, while at the same time managing the charged supercapacitor."
"We did all the hard work to make the supercapacitor easy for system engineers to use," comments David Meng, President and CEO of M3 Technology. "Before, they need to build large external circuits to be able to use supercapacitors. With the MT2600, everything became easy—just put the MT2600 with the two supercapacitors in series or in parallel, and we can get the whole system working. Basically, we have done all the hard work in the MT2600 to make it very easy for designers to use supercapacitors."
In terms of applications, supercapacitors are seeing increasing use in automotive applications and IoT devices.
"Temperatures during summer could get really, really high inside a car. Lithium-ion battery has a safety issue—it cannot work at those high temperatures. That's one major problem for rechargeable battery," says Yang. "Another application is for IoT devices, which need very low maintenance. They don't want to change their batteries. They wanted to put them around for 10 years or more. In that case, battery is not a good solution, especially when you have an energy harvester—you can charge this device and discharge. So, in those places, we can see supercapacitors beginning to be utilized. Another example, for a lot of portable devices like the stylus—users want fast charging. Those things are beginning to also use supercapacitors. So, I think IoT and the automotive markets are among the major driving forces in the future for supercapacitors."
Meng notes that video recording systems such as dash cams are also a major driver for supercapacitor adoption.
"As prices are becoming reasonable, we can see people putting supercapacitors in a lot of video recording system. Before, they are using lithium battery; but because of safety issues especially during hot summer days, now they have changed to supercapacitors," says Meng. "Now, with our MT2600, designers will find it easy to use supercapacitors. We expect to see more dash cams using supercapacitors."
Why MT2600 is unique
According to Yang, there are already supercapacitor management ICs in the market.
"But I think MT2600 is really unique in that it integrates more system functions," he says. "MT2600 is not only a supercapacitor charging/discharging device, but it also has a system level protection from the input side, OVP/OCP, reverse blocking, all kinds of situation. And all these functions are put into this chip.
He says other existing supercapacitor charger require a lot of external components and circuitry to create a total solution. "MT2600 is a one-chip solution—you just need several passive components, and a supercapacitor, and you have a power system to power your system with backup energy capability, and this is complete with all the protection. This device is really the most integrated solution for this kind of system," says Yang.
M3 Technology's team behind the development of MT2600
Meng adds that another benefit of using the MT2600 is that it only draws less than 2µA from the supercapacitor. "So, the energy that is being supplied to the system is not being drained by this chip. That's the benefit of this linear charging and discharging architecture of the supercapacitor," he says. "Other companies use a switching charger, which charges the supercapacitor and discharges it. That, by itself, is going to consume several milliamps of current, so that's already like 1,000x difference."
Winning an EE Awards
According to Yang, winning an award for their MT2600 is a confirmation of their efforts in really understanding their customers' needs and creating a solution to meet those requirements.
"It's a good starting point," says Meng. "Hopefully, this will give us even more positive feedback so that we can develop more unique and advanced products. Maybe next year, and the year after, we still can get another award or two. That, I am looking forward to! This award gives us confidence—even if we started very small, we still could win on the architecture and beat other companies."
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SOURCE EETimes Asia | 2022-12-16T10:06:46+00:00 | wagmtv.com | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/12/16/m3-technology-receives-ee-awards-simplifying-supercapacitor-designs-by-eetimes-asia/ |
OCALA, Fla., Aug. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HiBid.com facilitated the sale of over $39.3 million (gross auction proceeds) in assets last week. From August 8th through the 14th, HiBid.com averaged 1.57 million bids on the site per day, with over half a million lots sold in a combined total of 1,409 online-only and webcast auctions.
Currently there are hundreds of auctions on the site, some of which feature classic hot rods and motorcycles, antique vehicles, rare coins and paper currency, and coin collector sets. A 1946 Mercury Street Rod is one of the many noteworthy items up for bidding.
HiBid.com brings buyers and sellers together every day with a wide-ranging selection of items across hundreds of categories that appeal to bidders worldwide. HiBid is fully integrated with Auction Flex 360, providing auctioneers with a comprehensive auction management solution that supports internet-only auctions, webcast auctions, and absentee bidding.
GAP: $39,360,662
Lots Sold: 542,245
Online-Only Auctions: 1,318
Webcast Auctions: 91
Average Bidders Per Day: 967,000
Average Bids Per Day: 1.57 Million
The following list includes a small sample from the hundreds of auctions currently open for bidding on HiBid.com. Site visitors can click the Find Auctions menu at the top of the HiBid.com homepage for links to the Featured and Hot auctions, such as those listed below, or use the search box to find auctions nearby.
Auction Type: Live Webcast
Dates: August 3rd-21st
Seller: Gold Standard Auctions
View Auction Items
Auction Type: Online-Only
Dates: August 2nd-27th
Seller: Vail International, Inc. Auctioneers
View Auction Items
Auction Type: Online-Only
Dates: July 19th-August 25th
Seller: Bill Anderson Auctioneers, LLC
View Auction Items
If you're looking to sell through HiBid.com, click here to describe what you wish to sell, and a local HiBid auctioneer will help you get started.
Interested in receiving updates from HiBid? Sign up to receive newsletter emails, and follow HiBid Auctions on Facebook and LinkedIn.
HiBid is an online auction platform supporting webcast auctions, internet-only auctions, and internet absentee bidding. It is also available as a private-label solution. HiBid is integrated with Auction Flex 360, the market leader in auction software for live and online auctions, with capabilities that include cataloging, clerking, cashiering, accounting, mailing list management, inventory management, and multi-parcel. HiBid and Auction Flex 360 were built from the ground up to function together seamlessly.
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SOURCE Hibid-AuctionFlex | 2022-08-18T19:17:10+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/08/18/over-39-million-sold-through-hibidcom-last-week-with-vintage-cars-rare-coins-more-now-open-bidding/ |
(WSYR-TV) — For 106 years the Girl Scouts have been selling cookies to the masses. Every year, 220 million cookies are sold nationwide, and last year, 1.4 million packages were sold by the Girl Scouts of New York Penn Pathways. Today Jaime Alvarus, the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications of the Girl Scouts, joined us to tell us about their offers this year.
The 2023 cookie lineup includes the following flavors, each $5 per package:
- Samoas® – crisp, coated with caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut, striped with dark chocolate
- Tagalongs® – crispy, layered with peanut butter, covered with chocolate
- Do-si-dos® – crunchy oatmeal sandwich with creamy peanut butter filling
- Lemon-Ups® – lemon with messages inspired by Girl Scout entrepreneurs, “I am a go-getter,” etc.
- Thin Mints® – crisp wafer covered in chocolate, vegan, #1 selling nationwide
- Toffee-tastic® – gluten-free, rich buttery, crunchy toffee bits
- Trefoils® – traditional shortbread, oldest variety still produced
- Girl Scout S’mores® – crunchy graham sandwich, creamy chocolate, marshmallow filling
- Adventurefuls™ – brownie-inspired, caramel-flavored crème, hint of sea salt
- Raspberry Rally™ – NEW! – first cookie offered online only, SOLD OUT nationwide, “sister” to Thin Mints, dipped in chocolate with pink center
The cookie program is the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world.
Don’t like cookies but still want to support local GSNYPENN Girl Scouts? You can purchase cookies to be donated through an annual council service project. Each year, the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways partner with community organizations and donate cookies for their use. The 2023 recipients are the Food Bank of Central New York and Food Bank of the Southern Tier. Cookies are donated at the end of the season.
Find local booths April 1-23 by entering your zip code on Cookie Finder at buygirlscoutcookiesnow.com. | 2023-03-27T19:34:00+00:00 | localsyr.com | https://www.localsyr.com/bridge-street/2023-girl-scout-cookie-program-going-strong/ |
New Jersey’s long-depleted state Supreme Court will get two new justices after the state Senate on Monday confirmed Rachel Wainer Apter and Douglas Fasciale, both of whom were nominated by Gov. Phil Murphy to serve on the state’s highest court.
The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 23-14 along party lines to approve Wainer Apter, a Democrat and civil rights attorney whose nomination had stalled for a year and a half. Republicans once again voiced concerns she is too liberal for New Jersey and lacks sufficient trial experience.
By contrast, the Senate voted 37-0 to approve Fasciale, a Republican and judge for the last 18 years on the Union County Superior Court and the state’s Appellate Division.
Wainer Apter, 42, will fill the seat of Jaynee LaVecchia, an independent who retired at the end of last year. Fasciale, 61, will fill the seat of Faustino Fernandez-Vina, a Republican who retired earlier this year.
Both still have to be sworn in before formally becoming justices. It’s unclear when that will happen.
That will leave one vacant seat remaining on the seven-member Supreme Court. The final seat is currently filled by a temporary judge.
Murphy, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday he has “complete confidence” Wainer Apter and Fasciale will “serve our state and the cause of justice with distinction.”
“They are both incredible legal talents, having already proven their intellects in different parts of our legal system,” the governor said. “Moreover, they are both exceptionally good people, deserving of this honor.”
“The addition of Justice Wainer Apter and Justice Fasciale to our high court guarantees that the hard work of ensuring equal justice for all residents can continue unabated,” he added. “Moreover, at a time when faith in many of our nation’s core democratic institutions is in doubt, most distressingly the United States Supreme Court, their confirmations send a strong message that in New Jersey we continue our proud tradition of a balanced Supreme Court, choosing our justices across party lines from the best lawyers and judges in our state.”
The confirmation ended an 18-month journey for Wainer Apter, whom Murphy first nominated in March 2021 and then renominated in January after the selection stalled thanks to a political tradition known as senatorial courtesy — in which a senator from a nominee’s home county can block a nomination without having to a give a particular reason.
In Wainer Apter’s case, state Sen. Holly Schepisi, R-Bergen, refused for months to let the nomination move forward, fearing her policies and stances were too liberal and citing concern about the court’s makeup in general.
New Jersey governors and top lawmakers have traditionally sought to keep a partisan balance on the court, with one party having no more than four seats — though there is no law requiring it. Monday’s confirmations will shift the makeup of the court to four Democrats and three Republicans. But Murphy will also get to nominate three more justices before his second term ends in 2025, meaning he will have picked five justices in total, giving him a hand in shaping the court for years to come.
The political logjam finally cleared last month after several weeks of negotiations between Schepisi and Murphy’s office, with Schepisi saying she would allow Wainer Apter to get a hearing. Within 10 days, Murphy announced he would nominate a Republican, Fasciale, to take Fernandez-Vina’s seat.
Murphy on Monday praised “the extraordinary grace and fortitude that Rachel has demonstrated over the last year and a half as she waited for this day.”
“This display of character has made me even prouder to have put her name forward,” the governor said.
At Wainer Apter’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday, Republicans pressed her for over two hours, expressing concerns she would legislate from the bench.
There was similar worry Monday on the Senate floor. Sen. Michael Doherty, R-Warren, said he would not vote for Wainer Aprter because the sum total of “her legal career, whether in private practice, with the ACLU, or as director of the Division of Civil Rights, has been the misuse of litigation and manipulation of the courts to compel social change.”
Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Bergen, took issue with how in a 15-year career, only three years of Wainer Apter’s tenure has been focused on the Garden State.
“Her legal footprint is so tiny she has yet to make a mark,” Corrado said.
Sen. Jon Bramnick, R-Union, also cast a no vote, even though he voted yes when her nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
Although Wainer Apter is “intellectually qualified,” Bramnick said, “there is no evidence of moderation.”
She appears “out of step with the middle of the Democratic Party,” Bramnick said.
Sen. Michael Testa, R-Cumberland said she seemed more interested in setting law and policy than interpreting law and adjudicating disputes.
“My fear is we are going to have a legislator wearing a robe,” Testa said.
No Democrats spoke out to defend Wainer Apter, although they voted to approve her appointment.
Wainer Apter said during her hearing last week she would follow all U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
“I would fairly apply all U.S. Supreme Court decisions if confirmed,” she said.
Wainer Apter, 42, who grew up in Rockaway and now lives in Englewood, previously served as a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union’s national office, and later as director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights in the state Attorney General’s Office. There, she led the New Jersey team that defeated a motion by Texas and seven other states to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA.
She also clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Robert Katzmann on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Judge Jed Rakoff on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York after law school at Harvard.
“Serving on the (New Jersey Supreme) Court is the most important trust that can be put in an attorney in our state,” Wainer Apter, who has three young children, said last week. “I believe serving as an Associate Justice would be the highest and best use of whatever skills and abilities I may have to serve the people of New Jersey.”
Republicans roundly commended Fasciale on Monday. And state Senate President Nicholas Scutari — a Democrat and fellow Union County resident who pushed for Fasciale’s nomination — called him “one of the finest judges we have in the state of New Jersey.”
Scutari hugged Fasciale after the vote.
Fasciale, the son of an Italian father who met his Jersey City bred-Italian mother after immigrating to Ellis Island, has served as an interim justice on the state Supreme Court since Sept. 1.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner plucked Fasciale and two other senior jurists on the Appellate Division to fill the state’s top court that was down three Justices due to the retirements of LaVecchia, Fernandez-Vina and most recently, Barry Albin in early July.
Fasciale was nominated by then-Gov. Jim McGreevey, a Democrat, to the state Superior Court in 2004 and renominated by then-Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, in 2011.
“As someone who spent 17 years as a litigator and trial attorney in New Jersey courts, and then 18 years as a judge at different levels in our judiciary, I have devoted my entire career to the legal system of our state,” Fasciale, of Westfield, said after Murphy nominated him last month. “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to continue this service by sitting on our state’s highest court — a court with a national reputation for excellence.”
It’s unclear when Murphy will nominate a justice to fill the last vacancy on the court. Scutari said he does “not know where he is on that process.”
“We wanted to get this logjam done,” the Senate president said.
Murphy’s first nominee to the Supreme Court, Fabiana Pierre-Louis, was confirmed in 2020, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the court in New Jersey history.
In addition to the Supreme Court confirmations, the Senate on Monday also confirmed seven judges for tenure on the state Superior to help fill the depleted lower courts: Aimee R. Belgard of Edgewater Park; Craig L. Corson of Milltown; Therese A. Cunningham of Toms River; James H. Pickering of South Seaville; Kathy C. Qasim, of Edison; Guy P. Ryan of Pine Beach; and Robert G. Wilson of Somerville.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Susan K. Livio contributed to this report.
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Suzette Parmley may be reached at sparmley@njadvancemedia.com or follow her on Twitter at SuzParmley.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01. | 2022-10-17T22:10:37+00:00 | nj.com | https://www.nj.com/news/2022/10/depleted-nj-supreme-court-gains-2-justices-after-senate-confirms-them.html |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday about the destruction of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea after an encounter with Russian fighter jets, which brought the two countries closest to direct conflict since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
It was the first call between Austin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu since October. And Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had a similar call with his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces.
“We take any potential for escalation very seriously. And that’s why I believe it’s important to keep the lines of communication open,” Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing. “I think it’s really key that we’re able to pick up the phone and engage each other. And I think that that will help to prevent miscalculation going forward.”
The U.S. military said it ditched the Air Force MQ-9 Reaper in the sea after a Russian fighter jet poured fuel on the surveillance drone and then struck its propeller while it was flying in international airspace. Russia has denied that it caused the accident. The U.S. has said it was working on declassifying surveillance footage from the drone that would show Tuesday’s crash.
That the top U.S. and Russian defense and military leaders were talking so soon after the incident underscored the seriousness of the encounter over the Black Sea and that both sides recognized the need to tamp down the risks of escalation. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, contact between U.S. and Russian military leaders has been limited, with Russian officials refusing to take U.S. military calls in the early months of the war.
There are still questions as to whether Russia meant to down the drone, even though the moments that led up to its crash were “intentional,” said Milley, who stood alongside Austin at the briefing.
“We know that the intercept was intentional. We know that the aggressive behavior was intentional,” Milley said.
However, he told reporters that it was still unclear whether the collision itself was intentional. And he pushed back against Russia’s contention that the fighter jets did not come in contact with the drone.
“We have absolute evidence of the contact,” Milley said. “It’s very aggressive. … We have video evidence and all that.”
Milley and Austin also left open the possibility that the U.S. could try to recover portions of the downed $32 million drone, which Milley said crashed into waters that were 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,200 to 1,500 meters) deep.
Other U.S. officials said the U.S. doesn’t have military ships in the region, and won’t likely seek to recover wreckage. The Black Sea has been closed since early 2022 to military vessels that do not have a home port along its shores.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public, said Russia has already sent ships to the area and attempted to recover pieces of the drone.
Milley downplayed the significance of any potential recovery by Russia.
“It probably broke up. There’s probably not a lot to recover,” he said. “As far as the loss of anything of sensitive intelligence, etc. … we would take — and we did take — mitigating measures. So we’re quite confident that whatever was of value is no longer of value.”
U.S. officials have refused to detail what steps were taken to protect sensitive technology on the drone or the video it collected during its surveillance mission. But officials have long acknowledged that the U.S. can remotely remove sensitive information from high-tech drones and make systems inoperable so they aren’t of much value.
Milley and Austin also said the incident would not stop the U.S. from flying wherever international law allows.
Details of Milley’s call with Gerasimov would be kept private, Joint Staff spokesman Army Col. Dave Butler said in a statement. Gerasimov was named the new commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine in January and its previous commander demoted in an apparent sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dissatisfaction with the state of the war, which has been stalemated.
If the call between Austin and Shoigu was de-escalatory in private, it was not apparent from Russia’s public statements.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters earlier Wednesday that Russia has declared certain areas of the Black Sea off-limits to any aerial traffic during the conflict and suggested the U.S. was trying to provoke an escalation through the flights. The drone crashed near Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014 and illegally annexed.
“Any incidents that could provoke confrontation between the two great powers, the two largest nuclear powers, raise very serious risks,” Lavrov said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Shoigu, in the call with Austin, noted that the flights of U.S. drones near Crimea were “provocative” and risked escalating tensions in the Black Sea. He said Russia would respond “in kind to all provocations” in the future, but also noted that the two nuclear powers must act responsibly and maintain channels of communication.
Asked about the call, Austin declined to provide any details.
Austin and Shoigu first spoke about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in May 2022. At the time it was the highest level U.S.-Russian contact of the war.
In October, they spoke twice in three days as the threat of an escalation was high. Shoigu had accused Ukraine of planning to use a dirty bomb, a claim that was strongly rejected by U.S. and Western allies, who accused Russia of seeking a false pretext to justify further escalation, potentially including the use of a tactical nuclear weapon. | 2023-03-16T18:07:11+00:00 | pix11.com | https://pix11.com/ap-political/us-russian-military-chiefs-resume-contact-to-discuss-drone/ |
Philadelphia mass shooting leaves 5 dead, 2 injured; suspect in custody
PHILADELPHIA - Five people are dead, and two children were hurt when police say a gunman went on a shooting spree through the streets of Philadelphia on Monday night.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw told reporters that the barrage of gunfire began around 8:30 p.m. when officers were flagged down at the intersection of 56th and Chester streets.
Police found gunshot victims and were preparing to transport them to the hospital when they heard more gunshots in the area of 56th Street and Kingsessing Avenue, Outlaw said.
Responding officers found multiple spent shell casings at that location and continued to hear gunfire coming from nearby Frazer Street when investigators say they caught up with the gunman.
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Outlaw said officers chased the gunman as he continued to fire and eventually cornered him in a back alley on the 1600 block of Frazer Street where they took him into custody.
Police say he was wearing a bulletproof vest equipped with multiple magazines, and armed with an AR-style rifle and a handgun. He also had a scanner with him when he was arrested.
A seventh victim was found several hours later as officers were approached by a man while processing earlier crime scenes.
The man told police he was coming to check on his son when he was found lying unresponsive on his living room floor around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
He was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering gunshots to the face and torso, according to police who say several rifles rounds were found inside and outside the home.
Police say the five men killed in the shooting are between the ages of 20-59. A 2-year-old and 13-year-old who were injured by gunfire in the shooting are in stable condition.
Another person who police believe may have fired back at the gunman during the shooting rampage has also been placed in custody, according to Outlaw.
"We have absolutely no idea why this happened," Outlaw said. "At this point, all we know is that this person left their home and decided to target individuals."
Outlaw lauded the "bravery" and "courage" shown by the responding officers to bring the gunman into custody without incident.
"Thank god our officers were here on scene, they responded as quickly as they did, I can't even describe the level of bravery and courage that was shown in addition to the restraint." | 2023-07-04T14:10:19+00:00 | fox6now.com | https://www.fox6now.com/news/philadelphia-mass-shooting-leaves-5-dead-2-injured-suspect-in-custody |
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Muslims in Pakistan were holding rallies on Friday to observe a “Day of the Sanctity of Quran” after the South Asian Islamic nation’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a call for anti-Sweden protests over last week’s burning of the Islamic holy book in Stockholm.
The biggest anti-Sweden rallies were expected in the eastern city of Lahore and in Karachi, the largest city in the country. In the capital, Islamabad, lawyers holding copies of the Quran protested in front of the Supreme Court, while worshippers outside mosques held small rallies, demanding the severing of diplomatic ties with Sweden.
A group of minority Christians in the northwest also held a rally to denounce the burning of the Quran.
Supporters of Pakistan’s main radical Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan party are holding rallies in the country’s all major cities, including Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta to denounce the burning of the Quran.
Anger has grown in Muslim countries since last Wednesday when a man identified in Swedish media as a Christian from Iraq burned the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm on the festival of Eid al-Adha.
Muslim leaders in Sweden have also deplored the incident. But in his televised speech to lawmakers in the parliament the previous day, Sharif questioned why the police in Sweden let the burning of the Quran go ahead.
On Friday, Sharif took to Twitter, urging his compatriots to send a strong message to Sweden by holding rallies and demonstrating.
“When it comes to the Quran, the nation is one,” he wrote. “We will all protest nationwide today under the title of Sanctity of Quran Day and after Friday prayers.”
A similar call for protests has also been issued by Imran Khan, the former premier who was replaced by Sharif in April 2022 after his ouster through a motion of no-confidence in the parliament.
However, the followers of Khan, Sharif, and other parties are holding separate rallies across the nation.
Those holding anti-Sweden protests include a radical party, Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan (TLP), which has previously held violent rallies to condemn the desecration of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
TTP wants the boycott of all products from Sweden and the cutting of diplomatic ties until the man responsible for the burning of the Quran is punished. TLP gained prominence in Pakistan’s 2018 elections, campaigning on the single issue of defending the country’s blasphemy law, which calls for the death penalty for anyone who insults Islam. | 2023-07-07T15:39:00+00:00 | wearegreenbay.com | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-muslims-across-pakistan-hold-anti-sweden-rallies-to-denounce-burning-of-islams-holy-book/ |
We found plenty of severe weather across our area for our Tuesday afternoon and evening. Weather watches and warnings have been issued today across our area. We will continue to see more areas of rain and thunderstorms develop over our area over the next several hours. Some will produce damaging winds and some large hail at times. Some will produce a few tornadoes at times.
This is a very serious weather situation that we are in this evening and into the overnight hours. Please be weather alert for rapidly changing conditions in your area.
We will see most of the activity move out of our area on our Wednesday as the aforementioned frontal system moves out of our area. This will allow some high pressure to build into our area on later portions of our Wednesday and into our Thursday. This will briefly clear our skies out and we will see much more tranquil weather in our forecast for that time period.
We will also see briefly with this high pressure (due to it being of Canadian origin) bring in a burst of some colder temperatures for our area for a few days. This will be true for the daytime high temperatures and for the overnight low temperatures.
We will see another frontal system or two move back into our area as we go into the weekend and into next week. This will bring back some more chances for some rain and thunderstorms into our weather forecast. Some of which could be briefly on the heavy and or hefty side. Otherwise, one can expect some variably cloudy skies as the rule. Temperatures for both the daytime highs and for the overnight lows will be just a little bit milder in comparison to Wednesday night and into our Thursday. | 2022-11-30T16:06:38+00:00 | wtva.com | https://www.wtva.com/weather/forecast/much-more-tranquil-and-colder-weather-moves-into-our-area-for-our-wednesday/article_2a708cc4-705f-11ed-8d64-07319338a162.html |
BOSTON (AP) — The Christian flag that became the focus of a free speech legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court was raised — briefly — outside Boston City Hall on Wednesday to cheers and songs of praise.
The flag-raising took place about three months after the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision ruled the city discriminated against Harold Shurtleff and his Camp Constitution group because of his “religious viewpoint” when it refused permission for him to fly the banner on City Hall Plaza on Constitution Day 2017.
“We’re so pleased for this day,” Shurtleff, a Boston native, said at a ceremony to raise the white flag, which has a red cross on a blue background in the upper left corner.
“We have a great Constitution, and we have a wonderful First Amendment, but just like when it comes to muscles, if you don’t use it, they get weak,” he said. “When I got the rejection email from the city, and it said separation of church and state, I knew we had a case.”
There are three flagpoles outside City Hall that fly the U.S., Massachusetts and Boston flags. The city flag is sometimes taken down and temporarily replaced with another.
The city between 2005 and 2017 approved 284 consecutive applications to fly flags, with no denials before it rejected Shurtleff’s proposal, according to Liberty Counsel, which represented Shurtleff.
The only reason it was denied was because the word “Christian” was on his application, and he was told to replace the word if he wanted approval, Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel’s founder and chair, said Wednesday.
City Hall Plaza “is for the people to be able to represent their views and perspectives without government telling them that they can’t,” said Jonathan Alexandre, Liberty Counsel’s senior counsel for government affairs. “And if they open it up to one group, they must open it up to every other group.”
The flag was up for about two hours Wednesday before Camp Constitution took it down, both the city and Liberty Counsel confirmed.
The Supreme Court case revolved around whether the flag-raisings were an act of the government or private parties.
“Boston did not make the raising and flying of private groups’ flags a form of government speech,” the court wrote in the ruling. “That means, in turn, that Boston’s refusal to let Shurtleff and Camp Constitution raise their flag based on its religious viewpoint” curtailed their First Amendment free speech rights.
The city had no written policies or clear internal guidance about flag-raising, Liberty Counsel said.
That may soon change. Three City Councilors, with the support of Mayor Michelle Wu, filed an ordinance Tuesday to update the process for raising flags.
“Under the new process, a City Council resolution or mayoral proclamation will be required for a flag to be raised,” they said in a statement. “The proposed ordinance will enable the city to continue to celebrate flag raisings while complying with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on the city’s previous process, which clarified the affirmative role required of the city government in maintaining the flag pole as a site for expressing the city’s values and ideals.” | 2022-08-04T05:32:15+00:00 | kron4.com | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/ap-us-news/christian-flag-in-speech-battle-flies-briefly-over-boston/ |
- Hyundai Motor Group to support Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030 during the 172nd General Assembly of Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris, from June 20 to 21
- The Group to provide fleet of 10 dedicated-EV models wrapped in 'BUSAN is READY!' logo, to provide transport for delegates and travel around Paris landmarks
- Initiative to highlight Busan as a key candidate to host the 2030 World Expo to attendees from member countries of the BIE and tourists from all over the world
- Fleet composed exclusively of EVs in line with Busan's sustainability vision, acting as an advocate before the final selection procedures for the hosting country bids
PARIS and SEOUL, South Korea, June 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Group is supporting the ambition of Korea's second city Busan to host the World Expo 2030 with the provision of a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) during the 172nd Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) General Assembly, which will be held in Paris, June 20. The Group will be providing ten EVs, wrapped with the Busan logo, as transportation to the Korean delegation.
This initiative will promote Busan as a candidate for hosting the World Expo, to major figures from the BIE member countries as well as tourists from all over the world who are visiting Paris.
The Group's EVs, wrapped with the logo 'BUSAN is READY!', will be driven around major tourist attractions in Paris, including the Louvre and Eiffel Tower. On June 21, when Korea's official reception will be held, the vehicles will be used to provide transport for representatives of each country between the General Assembly hall and the reception hall. The transport fleet will feature the Hyundai IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, and Kia EV6.
This year's BIE General Assembly is also referred to as the 'final gateway' for the role it will play in deciding which country will host the 2030 World Expo. While the Korean delegation will be conducting its fourth presentation and engaged in intense bidding activities inside the General Assembly, outside, Hyundai Motor Group's EVs will be the face of Busan, promoting the city to the world.
For the first time, the Group's fleet of wrapped vehicles will comprise exclusively dedicated EVs. The decision was made in consideration of the vision of the Busan World Expo, which seeks a sustainable future under the theme of 'Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future.' This is particularly fitting, as Hyundai Motor Group's dedicated EVs have been consistently recognized and won major awards around the globe since last year, and further emphasize and promote the carbon neutral expo that Busan advocates.
The Group's latest support initiative for Busan follows similar activities last year when it created a positive atmosphere by utilizing its eco-friendly vehicles. During the 170-171st BIE General Assembly in June and November 2022, the Group demonstrated vehicles wrapped with the Busan World Expo logo at major tourist attractions in Paris. The Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kona Electric, and Tucson models were driven around the BIE venue and major tourist attractions in the French capital to promote Busan.
While the EVs, wrapped and branded with the slogan 'BUSAN is READY!', act as mobile promotional tools around Paris, the Group will continue its efforts to promote Busan's competitiveness and vision in numerous ways at every possible opportunity.
More information about Hyundai Motor can be found at: https://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com.
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SOURCE Hyundai Motor Group | 2023-06-19T12:05:40+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2023/06/19/hyundai-motor-group-supports-busans-bid-host-world-expo-2030-with-fleet-busan-branded-evs-paris/ |
UC Riverside Highlanders (6-3) at Oregon Ducks (5-5, 1-1 Pac-12)
The Highlanders are 2-3 on the road. UC Riverside is 2-2 in games decided by at least 10 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Guerrier is shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc with 2.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Ducks, while averaging 11.7 points. Will Richardson is shooting 48.2% and averaging 14.5 points for Oregon.
Zyon Pullin is scoring 19.3 points per game and averaging 4.6 rebounds for the Highlanders. Flynn Cameron is averaging 11.1 points and 5.9 rebounds for UC Riverside.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. | 2022-12-13T08:47:19+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/guerrier-leads-oregon-against-uc-riverside-after-26-point-game/2022/12/13/f609e5ce-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Shelby baseball, East Gaston softball standouts among area Athlete of the Week nominees
Here are the Gastonia and Shelby area’s athlete of the week nominees for March 20-25.
You can learn about this week’s candidates and submit your votes below. Only votes submitted in the poll will be counted. The poll is open through noon Friday.
Our weekly top performers list and athlete of the week nominations are compiled from information provided to The Gaston Gazette and Shelby Star by area coaches, athletic directors and team statisticians through emails, MaxPreps or mentioning @JoeLHughesII in game results and highlights posted to Twitter.
If a top performer’s name doesn’t appear on the list, encourage their coach to email submissions to jhughes@gastongazette.com or sports@gastongazette.com.
FAITH AND BASEBALL:Leukemia threw Crest baseball's Asher Smith a curve ball. How faith helped him fight back
LAST WEEK'S TOP PERFORMERS:Kings Mountain's Zane Brockman achieves perfection
Boys Athlete of the Week
Parker Dixon, Shelby baseball: Allowed one run on six hits with six strikeouts in a 6-1 win over East Gaston.
Jacob English, West Lincoln baseball: Struck out nine in five innings, allowing one earned run on two hits in a 14-5 win over Highland Tech. He was also 3-for-8 with two doubles and seven RBIs. After losing four of their first five, West Lincoln has won five in a row.
Jacob Hamrick, Kings Mountain baseball: Was 10-for-10 last week with four home runs, two doubles, 16 RBIs and 12 runs scored. The Mountaineers begin the week 7-1 overall, 4-0 in Big South 3A.
Kamari Houze, Stuart Cramer track and field: Took top honors at the 100- (11.06 seconds) and 200 meters (23.26 seconds) at the Kings Mountain track meet.
Anthony Reynolds, Hunter Huss track and field: Won the 400-meter (53.63 seconds) and pole vault (11 feet) at last week’s Kings Mountain track meet.
Brady Swadley, Lincoln Charter baseball: Was 5-for-9 with a home run, triple and double with six RBIs and four runs scored. The Eagles are on a four-game winning streak.
Girls Athlete of the Week
Betsy Eatmon, East Lincoln softball: Batted .583 this past week with two home runs, a double, six RBIs and three runs scored. The Lady Mustangs begin the week 6-1 overall, 2-1 in Western Foothills 3A.
Aidan Ledbetter, Crest softball: Didn’t allow a run in two starts, allowing a total of three hits, striking out 24 and walking one in wins over Stuart Cramer and South Point.
Jordan McCorkle, East Gaston softball: Hit .714 last week with a home run, three doubles, four RBIs and a run scored. After losing its first two games of the season, East Gaston has won six in a row.
Makaiyah Ross, Burns track and field: Earned wins in the 100- (13.12 seconds) and 200 meters (27.82 seconds), as well as the long jump event during a track meet hosted by Burns.
Grace Smith, South Point soccer: Scored five goals and had four assists as the Lady Raiders earned wins over Hunter Huss, East Gaston and Crest.
Mahogany Spikes, North Gaston track and field: The freshman claimed wins in the 100- (12.95 seconds) and 200 meters (27.27 seconds) at last week’s track meet hosted by Kings Mountain. | 2023-03-28T09:36:27+00:00 | gastongazette.com | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/03/28/nc-high-school-sports-gastonia-shelby-area-athlete-of-the-week-vote-march-20-25-2023/69995258007/ |
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Darius Wilson passed for two touchdowns, Bronson Yoder rushed for 120 yards and a score, and FCS member William & Mary scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat FBS school Charlotte 41-24 on Friday night.
The Tribe gained 560 total yards in posting its first FBS win since topping Virginia in 2009.
Yoder gave William & Mary a 27-24 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive. On the Tribe's next possession, Lachlan Pitts caught a pass from Wilson and raced 65 yards for a score.
Wilson was 12 of 18 for 237 yards and he added nine carries for 68 yards for William & Mary (1-0). Malachi Imoh and Donavyn Lester also rushed for a touchdown as William & Mary totaled 298 yards on 47 carries.
Xavier Williams passed for 201 yards and rushed for 48 yards and two scores for Charlotte (0-2), which lost 43-13 to FAU last week. Elijah Spencer caught five passes for 107 yards.
___
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Listen to Locked On here.
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. | 2022-09-03T04:44:58+00:00 | wcnc.com | https://www.wcnc.com/article/sports/football/charlotte-william-mary-41-24/275-923f71ab-836a-4e97-8337-4f266c71a55a |
SCOTT, La. (KLFY)— Scott Police Chief Chad Leger is hoping than an investigation into who might have thrown a bottle from a float at the weekend Mardi Gras parade will reveal the person responsible for injuring a teen.
While James Levertson, 14 was enjoying the festivities with his family, his mother, Michelle Levertson says her son was struck by a float rider who threw a vodka bottle into the crowd.
“I am holding the baby and I turn around and I see my son come walking up to me dazed and blood coming down the side of his head,” Leverton said.
Levertson said she rushed him to the hospital where he was given five staples in the head to stop the bleeding.
“He was just glad it was him and not his 6-and 8-year-old cousins who were right there with him,” Leverton said.
She says she filed a police report hoping to bring justice for what happened to James and is now encouraging everyone to step up and do what is right.
“For the people that were there, step up and say something. If you saw something, say something.”
She also wants to send a message to those riding in the parades.
“I want the word to get out to people that are on the float. It is their responsibility to watch what they are throwing. If you have something big and heavy, don’t throw it from the top tier of a float. You got little kids that is going to hurt them.”
Even though the incident was very scary to deal with, Leverton said it is not deterring them from enjoying the rest of the Mardi Gras season. | 2023-03-01T17:49:13+00:00 | cenlanow.com | https://www.cenlanow.com/crime/scott-police-hoping-to-identify-float-rider-who-threw-bottle-into-crowd-at-mardi-gras-parade/ |
Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment and put Starr at the center of one of the country’s most polarizing debates of the 1990s, has died at age 76, his family said Tuesday.
Starr died at a hospital Tuesday of complications from surgery, according to his former colleague, attorney Mark Lanier. He said Starr had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit in Houston for about four months.
For many years, Starr’s stellar reputation as a lawyer seemed to place him on a path to the Supreme Court. At age 37, he became the youngest person ever to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia also had served. From 1989-93, Starr was the solicitor general in the administration of President George H.W. Bush, arguing 25 cases before the Supreme Court.
Roberts said Tuesday: “Ken loved our country and served it with dedication and distinction. He led by example, in the legal profession, public service, and the community.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell remembered Starr Tuesday as “a brilliant litigator, an impressive leader, and a devoted patriot.”
Despite his impressive legal credentials, nothing could have prepared him for the task of investigating a sitting president.
In a probe that lasted five years, Starr looked into fraudulent real estate deals involving a long-time Clinton associate, delved into the removal of documents from the office of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster after his suicide and assembled evidence of Clinton’s sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. Each of the controversies held the potential to do serious, perhaps fatal, damage to Clinton’s presidency.
In a Tuesday tweet, Lewinsky expressed mixed emotions on the news of Starr’s death. “As I’m sure many can understand, my thoughts about ken starr bring up complicated feelings,” she tweeted. “But of more importance, is that i imagine it’s a painful loss for those who love him.”
As Clinton’s legal problems worsened, the White House pilloried Starr as a right-wing fanatic doing the bidding of Republicans bent on destroying the president.
“The assaults took a toll” on the investigation, Starr told a Senate committee in 1999. “A duly authorized federal law enforcement investigation came to be characterized as yet another political game. Law became politics by other means.”
In a bitter finish to his investigation of the Lewinsky affair that engendered still more criticism, Starr filed a report, as the law required, with the U.S. House of Representatives. He concluded that Clinton lied under oath, engaged in obstruction of justice and followed a pattern of conduct that was inconsistent with the president’s constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws. House Republicans used Starr’s report as a roadmap in the impeachment of the president, who was acquitted in a Senate trial.
In 2020, he was recruited to help represent Trump in his first impeachment trial. In a memorable statement to Congress, Starr said “we are living in what I think can aptly be described as the ‘age of impeachment.’” He said that “like war, impeachment is hell, or at least presidential impeachment is hell.”
In a post to his Truth Social account, Trump paid tribute to Starr as “a true American Patriot who loved our Country and the Law. I so appreciated his support and his thoughts that our cause against fascists and other mentally sick people in our Country is just.”
Clinton’s legal problems began during the 1992 presidential campaign. Questions arose over the candidate’s ties to the owner of a failed Arkansas savings and loan. The issue faded quickly. But it caught the attention of federal regulators, who began looking into whether money from the S&L had been diverted to a real estate venture called Whitewater in which Bill and Hillary Clinton and the S&L’s owner, Jim McDougal, shared a financial interest.
Bowing to intense political pressure from Republicans and some members of his own party, Clinton called for appointment of a special counsel to investigate Whitewater. A three-member appeals court for independent counsels selected Starr.
On the Whitewater front, Starr’s prosecutors investigated Mrs. Clinton’s legal work for Jim McDougal’s S&L. Both she and the president were questioned by Starr’s prosecutors and their videotaped depositions were played for juries in criminal trials of McDougal and his ex-wife Susan. Neither of the Clintons was ever charged in connection with Whitewater.
The investigation of Clinton’s intimate relationship with Lewinsky was a Washington spectacle.
In 1995, Lewinsky went to work at the White House as an intern. During the government shutdown late that year, she and Clinton had a sexual encounter in a hallway near the Oval Office, the first of 10 sexual encounters over the next year and a half. Lewinsky confided the affair to a co-worker, Linda Tripp, who tape-recorded some of their conversations and brought the tapes to Starr’s prosecutors. Lewinsky was granted immunity from prosecution in the case that brought Starr celebrity and thrust a presidential sex scandal into America’s living rooms. She became Starr’s chief witness against the president, who had denied having sexual relations with her.
Putting the investigation behind him, Starr embarked on a career in academia, first as dean of the law school at Pepperdine University where he taught constitutional issues and civil procedures, then as president of Baylor University in his home state of Texas. He also became an author, writing “First Among Equals: The Supreme Court in American Life.”
Starr was demoted from the presidency at Baylor in 2016 amid a sex assault scandal that rocked the Big 12 school and its football program, as women alleged campus leaders at the nation’s largest Baptist school bungled or ignored their assault complaints. Baylor eventually settled with several women who filed a cascade of lawsuits, including a case where the victim of a 2015 attack accused Baylor of fostering a “hunting ground for sexual predators.”
The school’s board of regents allowed Starr to stay on as chancellor and law school professor, jobs that carried no “operational” duties at Baylor. He resigned altogether a few months later. Football coach Art Briles also was fired.
A review commissioned by the school found that under Starr, school administrators discouraged students from reporting or participating in student conduct reviews, and even contributed to or accommodated a “hostile” environment against the alleged victims.
In a statement, Starr apologized to “those victims who were not treated with the care, concern, and support they deserve.”
Starr also drew scrutiny for his role helping defend Jeffrey Epstein, the multimillionaire who killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually abused multiple underage girls. Starr was part of a team that helped Epstein reach a controversial plea agreement in 2008 that led to him receiving a 13-month sentence instead of facing more serious federal charges for sex abuse.
Starr was born in Vernon, a small Texas town near the Oklahoma state, and raised in San Antonio. He earned his B.A. from George Washington University in 1968, his M.A. from Brown University in 1969 and his J.D. degree from Duke University Law School in 1973. He was a law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger from 1975 to 1977.
As a young attorney at the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles, Starr worked with William French Smith, who became attorney general in the administration of President Ronald Reagan. Starr became counselor to Smith, and from there was nominated by Reagan to the federal appeals court.
___
Bleiberg reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Terry Wallace in Dallas and the late Pete Yost contributed to this report. | 2022-09-16T18:41:31+00:00 | wwlp.com | https://www.wwlp.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/ap-ken-starr-whose-probe-led-to-clinton-impeachment-dies/ |
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Native Americans in Massachusetts are calling for a boycott of a popular living history museum featuring Colonial reenactors portraying life in Plymouth, the famous English settlement founded by the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower.
Members of the state’s Wampanoag community and their supporters say Plimoth Patuxet Museums has not lived up to its promise of creating a “bi-cultural museum” that equally tells the story of the European and Indigenous peoples that lived there.
They say the “Historic Patuxet Homesite,” the portion of the mostly outdoor museum focused on traditional Indigenous life, is inadequately small, in need of repairs and staffed by workers who aren’t from local tribes.
“We’re saying don’t patronize them, don’t work over there,” said Camille Madison, a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe on Martha’s Vineyard, who was among those recently venting their frustrations on social media. “We don’t want to engage with them until they can find a way to respect Indigenous knowledge and experience.”
The concerns come just two years after the museum changed its name from Plimoth Plantation to Plimoth Patuxet as part of a yearlong celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing.
At the time, the museum declared the “new, more balanced” moniker reflected the importance of the Indigenous perspective to the 75-year-old institution’s educational mission.
“Patuxet” was an Indigenous community near “Plimoth,” as the Pilgrim colony was known before becoming modern day Plymouth. It was badly decimated by European diseases by the time the Mayflower arrived, but one of its survivors, Tisquantum, commonly known as Squanto, famously helped the English colonists survive their first winter.
“They’ve changed the name but haven’t changed the attitude,” said Paula Peters, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe who worked for nearly 20 years at the museum, most recently as marketing director. “They’ve done nothing to ingratiate themselves with tribes. Every step they take is tone deaf.”
Museum spokesperson Rob Kluin, in a statement emailed to The Associated Press, said the museum has expanded the outdoor Wampanoag exhibit, raised more than $2 million towards a new Indigenous programs building and has “several initiatives in place” to recruit and retain staff from Native communities. He declined to elaborate.
The statement also cited a pair of grants the museum received to boost its Native American education programming. That included more than $160,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to host a workshop this summer for teachers on how to incorporate Indigenous voices into their history lessons.
The museum also noted that its new director of Algonquian Exhibits and Interpretation is an Aquinnah Wampanoag who serves on his tribe’s education committee.
Carol Pollard, whose late brother Anthony “Nanepashemet” Pollard played a key role in the development of the museum’s Indigenous programming as a leading Wampanoag historian, was among those dismayed at the state of the site.
Last week, large gaps were evident in the battered tree bark roof of the large wetu, or traditional Wampanoag dwelling, that is a focal point of the Indigenous exhibit. Neither of the two museum interpreters on site was wearing traditional tribal attire. Meanwhile, on the Pilgrim settlement part of the museum, thatched roofs on the Colonial homes had been recently repaired, and numerous reenactors milled about in detailed period outfits.
“I know my brother would be very disappointed,” said Pollard, who also worked as a gardener at the museum until last summer. “I guarantee you, people dressed in khakis and navy blue tops was not my brother’s vision.”
Former museum staffers say museum officials for years ignored their suggestions for modernizing and expanding the outdoor exhibit, which marks its 50th anniversary next year.
That, coupled with low pay and poor working conditions, led to the departure of many long-standing Native staffers who built the program into a must-see attraction by showcasing authentic Indigenous farming, cooking, canoe building and other cultural practices, they say.
“For more than a decade now, the museum has systematically dismantled the outdoor exhibit,” the Wampanoag Consulting Alliance, a Native group that includes Peters and other former museum staffers, said in a statement late last month. “Many steps taken to provide equal representation to Wampanoag programming have been removed, and the physical exhibit is in deplorable condition. The result has been the virtually complete alienation of the Wampanoag communities.”
Kitty Hendricks-Miller, a Mashpee Wampanoag who was a supervisor at the Wampanoag exhibit in the 1990s and early 2000s, says she worries about what non-Indigenous families and students are taking away from their visits to the museum, which remains a school field trip rite of passage for many in New England.
As Indian education coordinator for her tribe, she’s been encouraging teachers to reach out to Native communities directly if they’re seeking culturally and historically accurate programs.
“There’s this unwillingness to acknowledge that times have changed,” said Casey Figueroa, who worked for years as an interpreter at the museum until 2015. “The Native side of the Plymouth story has so much more to offer in terms of the issues we’re facing today, from immigration to racism and climate change, but they went backwards instead. They totally blew it.” | 2022-08-17T21:23:06+00:00 | mlive.com | https://www.mlive.com/native-american-news/2022/08/native-americans-urge-boycott-of-tone-deaf-massachusetts-pilgrim-museum.html |
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Logan Ryan won a pair of Super Bowls in New England while playing with Tom Brady, picked off his final pass with the Patriots for a touchdown and has reunited with him on the Buccaneers.
Getting another ring together in Tampa Bay is a clear goal.
"We've been in locker rooms together. We've been in Super Bowls together. I played in playoff games against him," Ryan said on the AP Pro Football Podcast. "I miss that competitiveness in practice. What I look forward to right now, competing against him and me getting better, going against him in practice to make me as prepared as I need to be for the season."
The 31-year-old Ryan, a third-round draft pick by New England in 2013, was a starting cornerback on the 2016 Patriots team that rallied from a 28-3 deficit against Atlanta to win the Super Bowl. He left after that season and spent three years in Tennessee. In an AFC wild-card game at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 4, 2020, Ryan intercepted Brady’s last pass for New England and returned it 9 yards for a score in the final seconds to seal a 20-13 victory.
Ryan doesn’t playfully remind him about that one.
“He has one of those memories where he doesn’t forget it so I don’t have to, but he also knows how to move on pretty quickly, and he moved on and got a Super Bowl after that,” Ryan said. “And I moved on here to do the same. So, it’s just part of our legacy. Tom has been one of my favorite players, one of my favorite teammates, and I’ve always felt like I played my best when I was with him and I played my best against him.
“He demands the best out of you as a competitor going with him and against him. And that’s why I’m excited to get back on his side. We’re not on the field at the same time. So I have to do what I do, which is come out, communicate, lead, demand the best of my teammates, be a great teammate, put my body on the line and make those plays. And it really does take that type of selfless attitude to win championships. It takes that type of bond. And I know me and Tom have a really tight bond and we’re try to bring our two sides together.”
Ryan is one of three former teammates who joined Brady in Tampa during the offseason, along with right guard Shaq Mason and defensive end Akiem Hicks. Brady also lost his pal Rob Gronkowski, who retired.
“I think when you’ve been in the trenches with those guys, you know what they’re all about,” Brady said in June. “I think the more of those guys that you have — that caliber of player that can play at a championship level — the better it is.”
Ryan played both safety spots for the New York Giants over the past two seasons and also took more than 200 snaps as a nickel cornerback. He joins third-year starter Antoine Winfield Jr. and fourth-year man Mike Edwards in the safety room and is excited to work in coach Todd Bowles’ defense.
“What I like the most about it is the aggressiveness and the attention to detail,” Ryan said. “They already told me they’re going to put a lot on me in terms of knowing multiple positions, but also communicating and taking command right away on that defense. Todd played safety as a player, and he’s obviously coached the position as a coordinator and now head coach. So he has high demand and high standards for his safety. So I was obviously brought in for a reason and I don’t take that lightly. I take the responsibility heavy and I want to do a good job with it.”
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Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi and his work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/robmaaddi
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More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | 2022-07-29T16:20:58+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/nation-world/reunited-with-tom-brady-logan-ryan-has-clear-goal-in-tampa/HVU5G2NS4VGKJHYQLHNRX2ITQQ/ |
A retired Turkish ambassador says no one can predict whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will let Sweden become a NATO member at the summit.
Copyright 2023 NPR
A retired Turkish ambassador says no one can predict whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will let Sweden become a NATO member at the summit.
Copyright 2023 NPR | 2023-07-10T11:41:10+00:00 | mtpr.org | https://www.mtpr.org/2023-07-10/a-key-issue-for-the-nato-summit-will-turkey-block-swedens-membership |
WASHINGTON — In a good month, Celina Chanthanouvong has about $200 left after rent, groceries and car insurance. That doesn’t factor in her student loans, which have been on hold since the start of the pandemic and are estimated to cost $300 a month. The pause in repayment has been a lifeline keeping the 25-year-old afloat.
“I don’t even know where I would begin to budget that money,” said Chanthanouvong, who works in marketing in San Francisco.
Now, after more than three years, the lifeline is being pulled away.
More than 40 million Americans will be on the hook for federal student loan payments starting in late August under the terms of a debt ceiling deal approved by Congress last week. The Biden administration has been targeting that timeline for months, but the deal ends any hope of a further extension of the pause, which has been prolonged while the Supreme Court decides the president’s debt cancellation.
Without cancellation, the Education Department predicts borrowers will fall behind on their loans at historic rates. Among the most vulnerable are those who finished college during the pandemic. Millions have never had to make a loan payment, and their bills will soon come amid soaring inflation and forecasts of economic recession.
Advocates fear it will add a financial burden that younger borrowers can’t afford.
“I worry that we’re going to see levels of default of new graduates that we’ve never seen before,” said Natalia Abrams, president of the nonprofit Student Debt Crisis Center.
Chanthanouvong earned a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of California-Merced in 2019. She couldn’t find a job for a year, leaving her to rely on odd jobs for income. She found a full-time job last year, but at $70,000, her salary barely covers the cost of living in the Bay Area.
“I’m not going out. I don’t buy Starbucks every day. I’m cooking at home,” she said. “And sometimes, I don’t even have $100 after everything.”
Under President Joe Biden’s cancellation plan, Chanthanouvong would be eligible to get $20,000 of her debt erased, leaving her owing $5,000. But she isn’t banking on the relief. Instead, she invited her partner to move in and split rent. The financial pinch has them postponing or rethinking major life milestones.
“My partner and I agreed, maybe we don’t want kids,” she said. “Not because we don’t want them, but because it would be financially irresponsible for us to bring a human being into this world.”
Out of the more than 44 million federal student loan borrowers, about 7 million are below the age of 25, according to data from the Education Department. Their average loan balance is less than $14,000, lower than any other age group.
Yet borrowers with lower balances are the most likely to default. It’s fueled by millions who drop out before graduating, along with others who graduate but struggle to find good jobs. Among those who defaulted in 2021, the median loan balance was $15,300, and the vast majority had balances under $40,000, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Resuming student loan payments will cost U.S. consumers $18 billion a month, the investment firm Jefferies has estimated. The hit to household budgets is ill-timed for the overall economy, Jefferies says, because the United States is widely believed to be on the brink of a recession.
Despite the student loan moratorium, Americans mostly didn’t bank their savings, according to Jefferies economist Thomas Simons. So they’ll likely have to cut back on other things — travel, restaurants — to fit resumed loan payments into their budgets. Belt-tightening could hurt an economy that relies heavily on consumer spending.
Noshin Hoque graduated from Stony Brook University early in the pandemic with about $20,000 in federal student loans. Instead of testing the 2020 job market, she enrolled at a master’s program in social work at Columbia University, borrowing $34,000 more.
With the payments paused, she felt a new level of financial security. She cut costs by living with her parents in New York City and her job at a nonprofit paid enough to save money and help her parents.
She recalls splurging on a $110 polo shirt as a Father’s Day gift for her dad.
“Being able to do stuff for my parents and having them experience that luxury with me has just been such a plus,” said Hoque, who works for Young Invincibles, a nonprofit that supports student debt cancellation.
It gave her the comfort to enter a new stage of life. She got married to a recent medical school graduate, and they’re expecting their first child in November. At the same time, they’re bracing for the crush of loan payments, which will cost at least $400 a month combined. They hope to pay more to avoid interest, which is prohibited for them as practicing Muslims.
To prepare, they stopped eating at restaurants. They canceled a vacation to Italy. Money they wanted to put toward their child’s education fund will go to their loans instead.
“We’re back to square one of planning our finances,” she said. “I feel that so deeply.”
Even the logistics of making payments will be a hurdle for newer borrowers, said Rachel Rotunda, director of government relations at National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. They’ll need to find out who their loan servicers are, choose a repayment plan and learn to navigate the payment system.
“The volume of borrowers going back on the system at the same time — this has never happened before,” Rotunda said. “It’s fair to say it’s going to be bumpy.”
The Education Department has promised to make the restart of payments as smooth as possible. In a statement, the agency said it will continue to push for Biden’s debt cancellation as a way to reduce borrowers’ debt load and ease the transition.
For Beka Favela, 30, the payment pause provided independence. She earned a master’s in counseling last year, and her job as a therapist allowed her to move out of her parents’ house.
Without making payments on her $80,000 in student loans, she started saving. She bought furniture. She chipped away at credit card debt. But once the pause ends, she expects to pay about $500 a month. It will consume most of her disposable income, leaving little for surprise costs. If finances get tighter, she wonders if she’ll have to move back home.
“I don’t want to feel like I’m regressing in order to make ends meet,” said Favela, of Westmont, Illinois. “I just want to keep moving forward. I’m worried, is that going to be possible?”
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AP Economics Writer Paul Wiseman contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | 2023-06-07T05:42:20+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/07/student-loan-payment-pause-end/6733a2d2-04f1-11ee-b74a-5bdd335d4fa2_story.html |
Storms headed south along I-15 toward Las Vegas
Updated July 27, 2022 - 6:46 pm
Storms that dropped nearly an inch of rain south of St. George earlier Wednesday are moving south along Interstate 15 toward Las Vegas.
As of 6:40 p.m., moderate storm cells that were moving southwest could be seen on National Weather Service radar over Logandale and Overton.
Earlier Wednesday, monsoon rains dropped considerable water on Primm, Jean, Boulder City and Henderson.
Later in the day, Mesquite and St. George were the rain recipients.
A Regional Flood Control gauge northeast of Primm showed 1.38 inches while gauges showed 0.28 of an inch received in Jean, Boulder City and Henderson.
The rain is traveling horizontally and hitting our upstairs windows. The streets downtown are getting flooded. pic.twitter.com/h4i4Q2prus
— Boulder City Review (@BCReview) July 27, 2022
“Parts of the east side also got about a quarter of an inch at Sam Boyd Stadium,” meteorologist Ashley Nickerson said. “Traffic slowed southbound on Interstate 15.”
A gauge near Duck Creek north of Mountain Vista received 0.35 of an inch while the area near Sam Boyd showed .31 of an inch and Green Valley showed .16 of an inch.
Near Mount Charleston, 0.59 of an inch fell at Harris Springs and 0.20 of an inch just to the west.
There was stronger rain about 4:30 p.m. near St. George, Nickerson said. There are moderate to heavy cells showing on radar about 5 miles northeast of Mesquite and smaller cells over I-15 between Mesquite and St. George.
A gauge north of Mesquite and south of Littlefield, Arizona, received 0.83 of an inch around 5 p.m. with 0.51 of that coming down in a 15-minute period.
“Winds could gust to 30 or 40 mph through about 6 p.m. and then maybe a small break,” Nickerson said. “If the cells to the north congeal, we might see storms between 7 and 10 p.m.”
Heavier rain fell along U.S. 93 with 1.46 inches near White Hills, Arizona, and 1.89 inches near Santa Claus northeast of Bullhead City, Arizona.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter. | 2022-07-28T02:00:10+00:00 | reviewjournal.com | https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/weather/storms-headed-south-along-i-15-toward-las-vegas-2613909/ |
LONDON -- The publisher of British tabloid the Daily Mirror has acknowledged and apologized for unlawfully gathering information about Prince Harry in its reporting, and said it warrants compensation, at the outset of the prince's first phone hacking trial Wednesday.
The admission was made in court filings outlining Mirror Group Newspapers' defense.
The group continued to deny that it hacked phones to intercept voicemail messages, and said that Harry and three less-well-known celebrities brought their claims beyond a time limit.
But it acknowledged there was "some evidence of the instruction of third parties to engage in other types of UIG (unlawful information gathering) in respect of each of the claimants," which includes the Duke of Sussex. It said this "warrants compensation" but didn't spell out what form that might take.
"MGN unreservedly apologizes for all such instances of UIG, and assures the claimants that such conduct will never be repeated," the court papers said.
The publisher said its apology was not a tactical move to reduce damages but was done "because such conduct should never have occurred."
The trial is Harry's opening salvo in his legal battle against the British press. Harry and the other celebrities are suing the former publisher of the Daily Mirror for alleged invasion of privacy.
The case is the first of the duke's three phone hacking lawsuits and threatens to do something he said his family long feared: put a royal on the witness stand to discuss embarrassing revelations.
The activities in question stretch back more than two decades, when journalists and private eyes intercepted voicemails to snoop on members of the royal family, politicians, athletes, celebrities and even crime victims. A scandal erupted when the hacking was revealed.
Harry is expected to testify in person in June, his lawyer has said. It won't be his first time in the High Court, following his surprise appearance last month to observe most of a four-day hearing in one of his other lawsuits.
He did not show up for opening statements in the trial. Harry breezed through London for Saturday's coronation of his father, King Charles III, before leaving immediately after the ceremony to fly back to California to be with his family for his son's birthday.
The prince has waged a war of words against British newspapers in legal claims and in his best-selling memoir "Spare," vowing to make his life's mission reforming the media that he blames for the death of his mother, Princess Diana. She died in a car wreck in Paris in 1997 while trying to evade paparazzi.
Harry has also sued the publishers of the Daily Mail and The Sun over the phone hacking scandal that metastasized after a year-long inquiry into press ethics in 2011 revealed that employees of the now-defunct News of the World tabloid eavesdropped on mobile phone voicemails.
Harry has outlined his grievances against the media in court papers, saying the press hounded him since his earliest days and created a narrative that portrayed him as "the 'thicko,' the 'cheat,' the 'underage drinker.'" His relationships with girlfriends were wrecked by "the entire tabloid press as a third party."
"Looking back on it now, such behavior on their part is utterly vile," he said in a witness statement in a similar case.
His lawsuits could further roil family relations that have been strained since Harry and his wife, Meghan, left royal life in 2020 and moved to the United States after complaining about racist attitudes from the British press.
Mirror Group Newspapers and other publishers have primarily defended themselves by asserting that Harry failed to bring his cases within a six-year year time limit. The duke's lawyer has argued that an exception should be applied because publishers actively concealed the skullduggery.
In a stunning revelation last month that dredged up an embarrassing chapter in his father's life, Harry blamed his delay in bringing suit, in part, on his family.
He asserted he was barred from bringing a case against The Sun and other newspapers owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch because of a "secret agreement" - allegedly approved of by Queen Elizabeth II - that called for reaching a private settlement and getting an apology.
"The reason for this was to avoid the situation where a member of the royal family would have to sit in the witness box and recount the specific details of the private and highly sensitive voicemails that had been intercepted," Harry said in a witness statement against News Group Newspapers.
"The institution was incredibly nervous about this and wanted to avoid at all costs the sort of reputational damage that it had suffered in 1993," he said, alluding to a transcript of a leaked recording - published in the Sunday Mirror - of an intimate conversation his father, then Prince of Wales, had with his paramour, now Queen Camilla, in which he compared himself to a tampon.
Harry said his brother, Prince William, had quietly settled his own hacking claims with News Group for "huge sum of money" in 2020. He also claimed his father had directed palace staff to order him to drop his litigation because it was bad for the family.
Murdoch's company denied there was a "secret agreement" and wouldn't comment on the alleged settlement. The palace hasn't responded to requests for comment.
Harry has alleged that reporters at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People used illegal methods to gather material from his family and friends for nearly 150 articles. The newspaper has said he is wrong about how its reporters got information, saying they used legal methods for many articles.
In 2015, publishers of The Mirror printed a front-page apology for phone hacking and tripled its fund to 12 million pounds ($15 million) to compensate victims.
Mirror Group said more than 600 of some 830 claims had been settled. Of the remaining 104 cases, 86 were brought too late to be litigated, it said in court papers.
"Where historical wrongdoing has taken place, we have made admissions, take full responsibility and apologize unreservedly," a spokesperson for Mirror Group Newspapers said in advance of the trial. "But we will vigorously defend against allegations of wrongdoing where our journalists acted lawfully."
The lawsuits were combined as a test case that could determine the outcome of hacking claims also made against Mirror Group by former Girls Aloud member Cheryl, the estate of the late singer George Michael, and former soccer player Ian Wright. | 2023-05-10T11:30:04+00:00 | abc30.com | https://abc30.com/british-tabloid-daily-mirror-prince-harry-phone-hacking-trail/13230047/ |
ATHENS, Ga. — A healthy Kenny McIntosh and strong play from the offensive line have No. 1 Georgia’s running game peaking just in time for the postseason.
The Tigers’ run defense will try to recover after giving up Devon Achane’s career-high 215 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 38-23 loss to Texas A&M.
Georgia (12-0) led Georgia Tech only 10-7 at halftime last week before coach Kirby Smart called for a re-commitment to a physical running game. The Bulldogs answered the call by scoring on their first five possessions in the second half of a 37-14 win.
McIntosh and Kendall Milton ran for touchdowns as Georgia outrushed Georgia Tech 264-40. McIntosh posted game-high totals of 86 rushing yards and 91 receiving yards.
“When he flips the switch and really starts going, he’s got great vision and great hands,” said Smart of McIntosh. “He’s a weapon.”
After dealing with two deep thigh bruises this season, McIntosh looks strong for the postseason. That’s a good sign for Georgia’s hopes of defending its national championship.
“It’s my last year and I know what I want and I’ve been waiting all my life for this moment,” McIntosh said after the Georgia Tech game. “I want to take full advantage of this opportunity.”
Daijun Edwards, Milton and Branson Robinson shared the carries with McIntosh. The Bulldogs averaged 6.5 yards per carry against Georgia Tech, boosted by a 45-yard run by McIntosh and a 44-yard gain by Milton.
LSU linebacker Micah Baskerville said he expects Georgia to challenge the Tigers’ run defense, especially after last week’s poor showing.
“They have a good offensive line, good size,” Baskerville said. “I see that they’re physical. Our goal is to stop the run. We feel they’re going to come out and run it on us because of last week. That’s our challenge that we’re going to have to stop so it doesn’t happen back-to-back weeks.”
Georgia ran for 247 yards while passing for only 116 yards in a 16-6 win at Kentucky on Nov. 19.
Smart credits “the physicality at the line of scrimmage” for the late-season surge in the running game.
“I think the line of scrimmage is playing really well, they’re playing really physical,” Smart said.
Georgia has completed back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. The Bulldogs will try to snap a streak of three straight SEC championship game losses. They lost last year’s SEC title game to Alabama before winning the rematch in the national championship game.
Depth at running back and an efficient passing game provided balance to the offense. Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes on only 135 yards against Georgia Tech.
Georgia ranks No. 8 in the nation with 488 yards per game in total offense, including 203 on the ground.
“Those guys have played physical,” said Smart of the running backs. “The backs have done it by committee. That’s been helpful.”
LSU (9-3) ranks only 59th against the run, allowing 144 yards per game. Defensive end BJ Ojulari said the Tigers’ run defense must recover from last week’s “very disappointing” game against Texas A&M.
“We all know what the task at hand is,” Ojulari said. “We’re still going to have to go out to Atlanta and play our best game. We know our potential. We know how we can play and the level we can play at.”
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2 | 2022-11-29T21:07:49+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/georgias-surging-running-game-to-test-lsu-in-sec-title-game/2022/11/29/c8e2e7c2-7022-11ed-867c-8ec695e4afcd_story.html |
As the seasons start to change, Chicago moves one step closer to a summer and holiday weekend that will feel different than every year in the past.
This year's Fourth of July holiday weekend festivities will include the NASCAR's first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race, where stock cars will bolt down the streets of downtown Chicago in a 2.2 mile, 12-turn course.
Additionally, several notable artists are expected to perform during the festivities, which are scheduled for July 1-2.
So what should fans who want to watch it all happen know?
Get Chicago local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Chicago newsletters.
Here's what we know so far about the event:
When is the NASCAR Chicago Street Race?
The NASCAR Cup Series street course race will take place on July 2 and will be preceded by an IMSA-sanctioned series race, which will run on July 1, officials announced.
How can I get tickets to the NASCAR event in Chicago?
Tickets to the highly-anticipated NASCAR Chicago Street Race went on sale last month, and can be purchased here.
General admission tickets are on sale for $269, with a "General Admission Plus" option also available.
"General Admission Plus" tickets offer access to a private lounge, air-conditioned restrooms, with a full bar and food available for purchase for $353.
Additional options with other benefits, including suites, premium hospitality clubs and the high-end "President's Paddock Club" are also available.
What is the course route for the race?
The proposed 12-turn, 2.2-mile course will take drivers onto major city roads like Columbus Drive, Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, taking them along Lake Michigan and around the city's iconic Grant Park.
The start and finish line and pit road will be located along South Columbus Drive directly in front of Buckingham Fountain. The course will pass through the famed Grant Park, the northern edge of Soldier Field and more.
The front straightaway and pit road will be housed on South Columbus Drive, running along a two-block stretch that will take the race past the iconic Buckingham Fountain.
Turn One:
The drivers will hang a left onto East Balbo Drive, heading toward Lake Michigan.
Turn Two:
Drivers will then turn right onto the southbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive, hurtling toward the Museum Campus with the Field Museum ahead of them and with the softball fields at Grant Park on their right.
Turn Three:
The slow right-hand curve in front of the Field Museum will mark the third turn on the track.
Turn Four:
Drivers will hang a 90-degree turn onto East Roosevelt Road at the southernmost point of the circuit.
Turn Five:
Drivers will then turn back onto South Columbus Drive, heading northward down a long straightaway.
Turn Six:
At one of the most interesting parts of the race-track, the drivers will hang a left onto East Balbo Drive, coming close to where Turn One is located.
Turn Seven:
A right-hand turn onto South Michigan Avenue will send the drivers heading back toward the north and into a chicane, representing one of the most challenging spots on the track.
Turn Eight:
Drivers will follow the curve of Congress Plaza to the right, beginning a sweeping chicane that will take drivers across Ida B. Wells Drive.
Turn Nine:
This turn will be located in front of Buckingham Fountain, and will send drivers back toward the left and back toward Michigan Avenue.
Turn Ten:
This turn will put drivers briefly back onto Michigan Avenue, heading northward as they make another quick right-hand turn.
Turn Eleven:
This turn represents the most northerly portion of the course, with drivers hanging another right onto East Jackson Drive. The famous lions of the Art Institute of Chicago will also be near this turn at the intersection of Michigan and Jackson.
Turn Twelve:
This turn will put drivers back on the front straightaway, sending them to the right and back down Columbus Drive for a long straightaway.
What will the festival weekend include?
Earlier this year, NASCAR announced a lineup of some big-name artists who will headline concerts as part of a two-day festival with the historic event.
The racing giant revealed The Chainsmokers, Miranda Lambert, The Black Crowes and Charley Crockett will perform as part of the NASCAR Cup Series' Chicago Street Race July 1-2.
All tickets will include access to races and concerts.
Here's a look at the schedule so far:
JULY 1
- Xfinity Series and Cup Series practice and qualifying
- The Black Crowes concert.
- Xfinity Series race
- The Chainsmokers
JULY 2
- Charley Crockett
- Miranda Lambert
- First-ever Cup Series street race
What if I can't attend in person?
The NASCAR Cup Series street course race will be televised on NBC.
What about the Taste of Chicago?
The Taste of Chicago, annually held in Grant Park near the 4th of July weekend, will be switching locations this year due to the presence of the NASCAR street race.
Ald. Brendan Reilly, who represents the Loop and Near North Side in the city’s 42nd ward, confirmed that the Taste of Chicago will move to Polk Brothers Park, located just to the west of the entrance to Navy Pier.
Reilly told NBC 5 that the event will also be held on the weekend of July 1-2.
The news comes amid concerns about the amount of time that private events in the park, including the NASCAR race and Lollapalooza, will require to set up and tear down structures and stages for the events.
What else should you know about the event?
Chicago Street Race weekend will mark NASCAR's first Chicago-area event in years. The company used to host races at Joliet's Chicagoland Speedway from 2001 to 2019.
“The Chicago Street Race is truly a first-of-its-kind two-day sports and entertainment event in the 75-year history of NASCAR,” Chicago Street Race President Julie Giese said in a statement. “We are proud to welcome superstars The Chainsmokers, Miranda Lambert, The Black Crowes, and Charley Crockett as we reimagine the NASCAR experience in the heart of downtown Chicago over Fourth of July weekend.”
It will also be the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race.
But it wouldn't be the first time a NASCAR series is held in the Chicago area. From 2001-2019, The NASCAR Cup series was held at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet on a closed course.
In June of 2021, NASCAR and iRacing held an televised Esports 2.2-mile virtual race through the city, over Lakeshore Drive, Michigan Avenue and near Grant Park. | 2023-03-07T23:24:45+00:00 | nbcchicago.com | https://www.nbcchicago.com/nascar-chicago-street-race/what-to-know-about-nascars-chicago-street-race/3088614/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Hart will keep his comedic candor going with SiriusXM. But this time he’ll bring along more recognizable figures from outside the comedy realm.
The satellite radio company announced Wednesday that it has signed Hart and his entertainment company, Hartbeat, to a multi-year deal. As part of the deal, the superstar actor-comedian will continue to curate content involving comedy and culture on his Laugh Out Loud Radio channel.
“At the end of the day, this is a great partnership,” Hart said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “When you put yourself in a position to create partnerships that will last and can grow, those are the big wins. You’re looking at a relationship that has evolved, that is growing and going in the right direction. I think this is one where the hard work has been put into the growth of the station and the platform is just paying off.”
Hart will host his podcast “Gold Minds with Kevin Hart,” a rebranded show that will premiere its new season Wednesday on SiriusXM. Some comedians will still occasionally appear on his show, but he’ll feature more conversations with notable figures including Emmy winner Jason Bateman, “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler, actor-rapper Method Man, filmmaker Neil Burger along with broadcast journalists Anderson Cooper and Stephen A. Smith.
In the “Gold Minds” premiere, Hart will speak with Coogler about his career journey, working with Michael B. Jordan and receiving guidance from Denzel Washington, Forrest Whitaker, Sylvester Stallone and Christopher Nolan.
Hart said he felt compelled to rebrand “Gold Minds” because he wanted to expand beyond comedy to a “larger pool of individuals with interesting stories.”
“I’m going further to entrepreneurs, big businessmen, TV personalities, amazing actors, actresses, directors. It’s expanding,” he said. “There’s a volume of people out there that should be talked to, and there’s not a volume of people that can truly access them properly and execute after getting to them. I think I’m one of the few that have this opportunity and I’m taking advantage of it. I want people to enjoy these authentic conversations.”
Hartbeat will produce the slate of new programs including “Love Thang with Punkie Johnson” and “One Song with Diallo and Luxxury,” hosted by HBO Max’s “South Side” co-creator Diallo Riddle and music producer Blake “Luxxury” Robin. His channel will exclusively release the late comedian Bernie Mac’s first-ever solo standup special.
Comedian Nathaniel “Earthquake” Stroman will return to Hart’s channel for the fifth season of his show “Quake’s House.”
Hart along with The Plastic Cup Boyz — including Joey Wells, Will “Spank” Horton and Na’im Lynn — will continue to host “Straight From The Hart.”
“Kevin has become a cornerstone of SiriusXM’s comedy programming, and we’re absolutely thrilled to deepen our relationship with Kevin and the whole Hartbeat team,” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s president and chief content officer. “As they’ve proven time and again, they have their finger on the pulse of the new, exciting, diverse voices in comedy, and our audience has clearly responded.”
When Hart signed his first deal with SiriusXM in 2018, he envisioned at least a decade-long relationship where can have a “significant stance” and create his own “version of identity.”
“When I look at what Howard Stern has been able to do over the years throughout his career and how he developed into an amazing entity, I say to myself ‘How do I do the same? How do I follow suit?’” Hart said.
“In doing it, you got to make sure that you’re willing to put in the time. This isn’t a two-year plan, a three-year plan. This is a 10 year overall commitment knowing what it will take to get to the place where you want to go. This is well planned out. I’m trying my best to execute it.” | 2023-03-15T16:14:54+00:00 | wwlp.com | https://www.wwlp.com/business/ap-business/kevin-hart-signs-new-deal-with-siriusxm-rebranded-show-airs/ |
Updated February 15, 2023 at 11:38 AM ET
The 19-year-old white gunman who killed 10 Black people and injured three others at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., last year has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan handed down the sentence during a hearing on Wednesday.
"There is no place for you or your ignorant, hateful and evil ideologies in a civilized society. There can be no mercy for you, no understanding, no second chances," Eagan said.
"The damage you have caused is too great, and the people you have hurt are too valuable to this community. You will never see the light of day as a free man ever again," she added.
Payton Gendron pleaded guilty in November to 15 criminal charges — including a first-degree domestic terrorism charge that comes with a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole — following the deadly racist attack at a Tops supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
For much of the roughly two-hour hearing, family members of those who were shot and one man who was injured in the shooting gave emotional victim impact statements to a crowded courtroom.
Simone Crawley, whose 86-year-old grandmother Ruth Whitfield was killed in the attack, told Gendron that her grandmother's legacy will outlive him.
"You will simply go from a name to a number. You will be herded like cattle. You will be shut away from the world," Crawley said. "Even with all of the heartache you have caused, you have failed to break our family's spirit. You thought you broke us, but you awoke us."
Gendron, who was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, bowed his head and appeared to be crying at times during the statements from victims' family members.
Barbara Massey Mapps berated Gendron and shared memories of her sister, Kat, who was also shot and killed at Tops.
"Kat would do anything for anybody any time," Massey Mapps said. "You have made me sick. You got my family crying. I miss my sister every day."
At one point while Massey Mapps was speaking, a man lunged toward Gendron and was restrained by police, while other officers quickly escorted Gendron out of the courtroom. The hearing paused briefly before resuming.
Toward the end of the proceeding, Gendron made a brief statement in which he apologized to the families of the victims for carrying out the racist massacre.
"I did a terrible thing that day. I shot and killed people because they were Black," said Gendron, who spoke from the defense table. "Looking back now I can't believe I actually did it."
Gendron also faces federal hate crimes charges
Gendron is also scheduled to appear in federal court this week after being indicted on 27 charges, including 10 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, three counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill and one additional hate crimes count, along with 13 counts of using, carrying or discharging a firearm.
He originally pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, but according to his attorneys, the gunman was willing to plead guilty to the federal charges if prosecutors agreed to spare him the death penalty, CNN reported in December.
The attorney general will decide at a later date on whether to seek the death penalty, according to the Justice Department. Gendron has been held without bail since his arrest after the May 2022 shooting.
Life without parole is New York's highest sentence
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said the judge will be required to sentence Gendron to life without parole for pleading guilty to the domestic terrorism charge.
New York does not have capital punishment, having formally abolished it in 2004.
Flynn also said Gendron is the first person in the state's history to plead guilty to that charge and that no one has yet been convicted of it either.
In a news conference after Gendron's pleas were made in November, Flynn called the case "a poster child for swift justice."
"This racist murderer did not accomplish what he set out to do. Because today, this community is stronger and better than it ever was. ... Love always conquers hate," Flynn said at the time.
Also in November, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told reporters it was emotional to be among those in the courtroom and hearing the pleas.
"It is important for this community to hear how these precious lives were snatched from us for no other reason than the color of their skin," Brown said.
Brown has also called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban, citing the number of mass shootings nationwide since May. The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization tracking gun violence, recorded 648 mass shootings in 2022.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-02-15T17:46:10+00:00 | kvpr.org | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-02-15/the-buffalo-tops-shooter-has-been-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-without-parole |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential win, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
A Washington, D.C., jury found Rhodes guilty of sedition after three days of deliberations in the nearly two-month-long trial that showcased the far-right extremist group’s efforts to keep Republican Donald Trump in the White House at all costs.
Using dozens of encrypted messages, recordings and surveillance video, prosecutors made the case that Rhodes began shortly after the 2020 election to prepare an armed rebellion to stop the transfer of presidential power.
Over seven weeks of testimony, jurors heard how Rhodes rallied his followers to fight to defend Trump, discussed the prospect of a “bloody” civil war and warned the Oath Keepers may have to “rise up in insurrection” to defeat Biden if Trump didn’t act.
Rhodes and a co-defendant who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy are the first people in nearly three decades to be found guilty of the rarely used Civil War-era charge at trial. The trial was the biggest test yet for the Justice Department in its efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the attack that shook the foundations of American democracy.
Seditious conspiracy calls for up to 20 years behind bars.
On trial alongside Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, were Kelly Meggs, leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers; Kenneth Harrelson, another Florida Oath Keeper; Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer from Virginia; and Jessica Watkins, who led an Ohio militia group.
Defense attorneys accused prosecutors of twisting their clients’ words and insisted the Oath Keepers came to Washington only to provide security for figures such as Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally. The defense focused heavily on seeking to show that Rhodes’ rhetoric was just bluster and that the Oath Keepers had no plan before Jan. 6 to attack the Capitol.
Rhodes testified that he had no idea that his followers were going to join the mob and storm the Capitol and said he was upset after he found out that some did. Rhodes said they were acting “stupid” and outside their mission for the day.
Prosecutors said the Oath Keepers saw an opportunity to advance their plot to stop the transfer of power and sprang into action when the mob started storming the Capitol. The Capitol attack was a “means to an end” for the Oath Keepers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy told jurors in her closing argument.
Jurors heard how Rhodes spent thousands of dollars on an AR-platform rifle, magazines, mounts, sights and other equipment on his way to Washington ahead of the riot. They watched surveillance footage from the Virginia hotel where some Oath Keepers stashed weapons for “quick reaction force” teams prosecutors said were ready to get weapons into the city quickly if they were needed. The weapons were never deployed.
On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers wearing combat gear were seen on camera shouldering their way through the crowd and into the Capitol. Rhodes remained outside like a “general surveying his troops on the battlefield,” a prosecutor said. After the riot, Rhodes and other Oath Keepers went to an Olive Garden restaurant to celebrate, according to prosecutors.
The trial revealed new details about Rhodes’ efforts to pressure Trump to fight to stay in White House in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6. Shortly after the election, in a group chat that included Stone called “FOS” or “Friends of Stone,” Rhodes wrote, “So will you step up and push Trump to FINALLY take decisive action?”
Another man testified that after the riot, Rhodes tried to persuade him to pass along a message to Trump that urged the president not to give up his fight to hold onto power. The intermediary — a man who told jurors he had an indirect way to reach the president — recorded his meeting with Rhodes and went to the FBI instead of giving the message to Trump.
“If he’s not going to do the right thing and he’s just gonna let himself be removed illegally then we should have brought rifles,” Rhodes said during that meeting, according to a recording played for jurors. “We should have fixed it right then and there. I’d hang (expletive) Pelosi from the lamppost,” Rhodes said, referring to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Three other Oath Keepers previously pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. The last time the Justice Department had secured such a conviction at trial, though, was in the 1995 prosecution of Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks. | 2022-11-29T23:56:39+00:00 | qcnews.com | https://www.qcnews.com/nexstar-media-wire/oath-keepers-founder-guilty-of-seditious-conspiracy-in-jan-6-case/ |
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon signed and delivered its copy of a U.S.-mediated sea border deal with Israel on Thursday to a U.S. mediator, hoping to soon start exploring gas in its southern maritime blocs to bring economic stability to the crisis-ridden country.
The agreement to demarcate the maritime border comes after months of indirect talks mediated by Amos Hochstein, the U.S. envoy for energy affairs, and would mark a major breakthrough in relations between the two nations, which have formally been at war since Israel’s creation in 1948.
Lebanon and Israel both claim around 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea that are home to offshore gas fields. Lebanon hopes that demarcating maritime borders will pave the way for gas exploration to help lift it out of its crippling economic crisis, which has plunged three-quarters of its population into poverty. Israel hopes that the deal will reduce the risk of war with Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
“This agreement was written with the idea in mind that it was between two countries that don’t have diplomatic relations,” Hochstein told reporters at the Baabda Presidential Palace. “I think the good will and good faith efforts by all parties is what’s going to make this move forward.”
Hochstein spoke after meeting with President Michel Aoun and senior officials and receiving Lebanon’s signed agreement. He is scheduled to meet with Speaker Nabih Berri before heading to the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon headquarters in Naqoura by the southern border, where an Israeli and Lebanese delegation will separately deliver signed agreements and their finalized coordinates to the U.N., before Hochstein meets with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
Meanwhile, Lapid has signed the agreement. According to a statement from his office, a delegation led by the Energy Ministry’s director general is on its way to the signing ceremony in Naqoura at the border.
“There is a rare consensus in all security systems on the importance of the agreement,” Lapid said. The Israeli Cabinet approved the deal in a special session. “This is also an economic achievement. Yesterday, gas production began from the Karish Platform.”
Tensions briefly flared between Lebanon and Israel last summer, after Israel began drilling in the Karish gas field as negotiations took place. Prior to the agreement, Lebanon considered the area to be disputed, while Israel said it was part of its U.N.-recognized exclusive economic zone.
It was not immediately clear when drilling will begin, but cash-strapped Lebanon is hoping French oil giant Total will start soon after the agreement is signed and delivered by both parties.
Under the agreement, the disputed waters would be divided along a line straddling the “Qana” natural gas field. Gas production would be based on the Lebanese side, but Israel would be compensated for gas extracted from its side of the line.
President Aoun earlier this month in a televised address announced Lebanon’s approval of the sea border deal. The Israeli Supreme Court rejected four legal challenges against the deal, after its government also approved the plan.
In 2017, Lebanon approved licenses for an international consortium including France’s Total, Italy’s ENI and Russia’s Novatek to move forward with offshore oil and gas development for two of 10 blocks in the Mediterranean Sea. Novatek recently withdrew and officials, including Energy Minister Walid Fayad, have said that Qatar is interested in filling that gap.
“I truly believe and hope this can be an economic turning point in Lebanon for a new era of investment and continued support to lift up the economy,” Hochstein said.
Lebanon has since reached out to Syria and Cyprus to start direct negotiations over their northern and western maritime borders as well. | 2022-10-27T11:27:44+00:00 | valleycentral.com | https://www.valleycentral.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-lebanon-delivers-signed-sea-border-deal-to-u-s-mediator/ |
THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Sept. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Entergy Texas, Inc. board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend payment of $0.3359375 per share on its Series A Preferred Stock. The dividend is payable Oct. 15, 2022, to shareholders of record as of Oct. 1, 2022.
About Entergy Texas
Entergy Texas, Inc. (NYSE: ETI-PR) provides electricity to more than 486,000 customers in 27 counties. Entergy Texas is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans. Entergy powers life for 3 million customers through its operating companies across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy is creating a cleaner, more resilient energy future for everyone with our diverse power generation portfolio, including increasingly carbon-free energy sources. With roots in the Gulf South region for more than a century, Entergy is a recognized leader in corporate citizenship, delivering more than $100 million in economic benefits to local communities through philanthropy and advocacy efforts annually over the last several years. Our approximately 12,000 employees are dedicated to powering life today and for future generations.
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SOURCE Entergy Corporation | 2022-09-19T19:01:39+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/09/19/entergy-texas-declares-quarterly-dividend-preferred-stock/ |
Real sales growth for US small businesses slowed to just 2.8% year-over-year two years after pandemic-induced recession
DENVER, Aug. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Xero, the global small business platform, today announced the launch of its Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) program which includes quarterly updates on the small business economy for the United States and Canada, based on aggregated and anonymized data from tens of thousands of Xero customers. It also launched a special XSBI report: Small business snapshot: United States and Canada which provides insights on business performance and the impact inflation is having on US small businesses.
The report found that, while small business growth seemed to be nearly double the pre-pandemic average, this was largely due to higher prices rather than an increase in the amount of goods and services sold. In short, it was likely due to inflation and small businesses increasing their prices to solve for market conditions.
Inflation is skewing the numbers
The report, produced in partnership with Accenture, tracks the performance of small businesses all the way back through 2017, reveals:
- Sales growth in March 2022 was 11.3% year-over-year (y/y). This is not quite double the pre-pandemic average growth of 6.7% (y/y), but slower than the 12.6% (y/y) rise recorded in February 2022.
- Inflation rose 8.5% (y/y) in March 2022 which means real sales growth, which excludes price effects, was a much slower 2.8% (y/y) (and down from a 4.7% (y/y) rise in February 2022).
"In March 2022, the US was experiencing higher inflation than any other major economy1," said Chris O'Neill, Chief Growth Officer, Xero. "As borrowing costs rise, expenses increase, and customer dollars decline in purchasing power, it is more important than ever that small businesses get in control of their finances. Understanding exactly what is happening to their costs and profit margins at all times will help them better navigate this tricky period."
Payment times a more positive sign of stability
Fortunately, the report's insights did contain some better news for small businesses in terms of payment times and late payment delays for small businesses in the US. Delays in payments generally have an adverse effect on cash flow and liquidity, often causing smaller businesses to seek extensions and increase their borrowing; as such, payment times generally reflect how business cash flow is functioning:
- Small businesses waited an average of 23.5 days for invoices to be paid in March 2022, which was quicker than the 2021 average of 25.0 days.
- Payments were an average of 5.6 days late in March 2022 after averaging 7.0 days in 2021.
"It's encouraging to see timely payments to US small businesses; naturally, this helps support cash flow, which is the lifeblood of any business. This could be, at least in part, due to increased use of electronic invoicing processes and online payments as more small businesses embrace digital solutions," said O'Neill. "However, small business owners should note that as inflation continues to rise over the remainder of the year, they need to stay on top of their accounts and work hand-in-hand with a trusted advisor to ensure they are maintaining cash flow and profitability."
Amit Singh, Managing Director, Accenture, said: "Small businesses are the heartbeat of the US economy – making up more than 99% of all businesses. Understanding and tracking the performance of small businesses, particularly during times of economic uncertainty, is absolutely crucial for effective economic management and public policy. The Xero Small Business Insights program provides timely insights about the health of small businesses. The metrics in this report have proven the resilience of small businesses in times of challenge – lockdowns, social distancing mandates and now unprecedented growth in inflation."
The launch of Xero Small Business Insights for US and Canada was announced at Xerocon New Orleans, one of the world's premier events for cloud accounting leaders. Accounting and bookkeeping partners and the Xero app partner community are gathered over two days to hear the latest from industry leaders and gain expert insight into the newest Xero tools and features to help save time, grow their business and have a greater impact on their clients' success. Xero also produces regular Xero Small Business Insights for Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Visit xero.com/xerosbi for more information.
For access to the full Small business snapshot: United States and Canada report and access quarterly updates, visit xero.com/xerosbi.
Methodology and Background
The Small business snapshot: United States and Canada report is based on aggregated and anonymized data from tens of thousands of small business customers across the US and Canada. That is, it is actual data not a survey. The report, including the insights and analysis contained within it, was prepared by Accenture with the support of Xero, using Xero Small Business Insights data, publicly available data and Accenture estimates for the purpose of informing and developing policies to support small businesses.
Xero, in partnership with Accenture, has been providing small business performance reports, based on the aggregated and anonymized data of its customers, in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom for several years. Now, with this report, it is expanding Xero Small Business Insights to the United States and Canada.
Each quarter, Xero will provide small business performance data for the United States and Canada, covering sales, time to be paid, and late payments. The data and a summary report will be available to download for free each quarter at www.xero.com/xerosbi.
About Xero
Xero is a global small business platform with 3.3 million subscribers which includes a core accounting solution, payroll, workforce management, expenses and projects. Xero also provides access to financial services, and an ecosystem of more than 1,000 connected apps and more than 300 connections to banks and other financial institutions. Through Xero's open platform, small businesses can connect to a range of solutions that help them run their business and manage their finances. For three consecutive years (2020-2022) Xero was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. In 2021, Xero was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), powered by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Xero has been named as a FIFA Women's Football partner under FIFA's new commercial structure.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Technology and Operations services and Accenture Song — all powered by the world's largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 710,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities.
1 Major economy refers to G7 economies, CPI data for March can be found at https://data.oecd.org/
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SOURCE Xero | 2022-08-24T15:45:50+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/08/24/xero-small-business-insights-finds-us-small-businesses-pandemic-recovery-largely-driven-by-inflation/ |
KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian sniper adjusted his scope and fired a.50-caliber bullet at a Russian soldier across the Dnieper River. Earlier, another Ukrainian used a drone to scan for Russian troops.
Two weeks after retreating from the southern city of Kherson, Russia is pounding the town with artillery as it digs in across the Dnieper River.
Ukraine is striking back at Russian troops with its own long-distance weapons, and Ukrainian officers say they want to capitalize on their momentum.
The Russian withdrawal from the only provincial capital it gained in nine months of war was one of Moscow’s most significant battlefield losses. Now that its troops hold a new front line, the army is planning its next move, the Ukrainian military said through a spokesman.
Ukrainian forces can now strike deeper into the Russian-controlled territories and possibly push their counteroffensive closer to Crimea, which Russia illegally captured in 2014.
Russian troops continue to establish fortifications, including trench systems near the Crimean border and some areas between the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east.
In some locations, new fortifications are up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) behind the current front lines, suggesting that Russia is preparing for more Ukrainian breakthroughs, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
“The armed forces of Ukraine seized the initiative in this war some time ago,” said Mick Ryan, military strategist and retired Australian army major general. “They have momentum. There is no way that they will want to waste that.”
Crossing the river and pushing the Russians further back would require complicated logistical planning. Both sides have blown up bridges across the Dnieper.
“This is what cut Russians’ supply lines and this is also what will make any further Ukrainian advance beyond the left bank of the river more difficult,” said Mario Bikarski, an analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit.
In a key battlefield development this week, Kyiv’s forces attacked Russian positions on the Kinburn Spit, a gateway to the Black Sea basin, as well as parts of the southern Kherson region still under Russian control. Recapturing the area could help Ukrainian forces push into Russian-held territory in the Kherson region “under significantly less Russian artillery fire” than if they directly crossed the Dnieper River, said the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. Control of the area would help Kyiv alleviate Russian strikes on Ukraine’s southern seaports and allow it to increase its naval activity in the Black Sea, the think tank added.
Some military experts say there’s a possibility the weather might disproportionately harm poorly-equipped Russian forces and allow Ukraine to take advantage of frozen terrain and move more easily than during the muddy autumn months, ISW said.
Russia’s main task, meanwhile, is to prevent any further retreats from the broader Kherson region and to strengthen its defense systems over Crimea, said Bikarski, the analyst. Ryan, the military strategist, said Russia will use the winter to plan its 2023 offensives, stockpile ammunition and continue its campaign targeting critical infrastructure including power and water plants.
Russia’s daily attacks are already intensifying. Last week a fuel depot was struck in Kherson, the first time since Russia withdrew. This week at least one person was killed and three wounded by Russian shelling, according to the Ukrainian president’s office. Russian airstrikes damaged key infrastructure before Russia left, creating a dire humanitarian crisis. Coupled with the threat of attack, that is adding a layer of stress, say many who weathered Russia’s occupation and are leaving, or considering it.
Ukrainian authorities this week began evacuating civilians from recently liberated parts of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, fearing lack of heat, power and water due to Russian shelling will make winter unlivable.
Boarding a train on Monday, Tetyana Stadnik has decided to go after waiting for the liberation of Kherson.
“We are leaving now because it’s scary to sleep at night. Shells are flying over our heads and exploding. It’s too much,” she said. “We will wait until the situation gets better. And then we will come back home.”
Others in the Kherson region have decided to stay despite living in fear.
“I’m scared,” said Ludmilla Bonder a resident of the small village of Kyselivka. “I still sleep fully clothed in the basement.” | 2022-11-24T08:59:30+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/after-russian-retreat-ukrainian-military-plans-next-move/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
Finchem sanctioned over ‘baseless’ Arizona election suit
By JONATHAN J. COOPER
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona judge has sanctioned former Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem and his attorney over a lawsuit challenging his loss in last year’s election, saying the suit “was groundless and not brought in good faith.”
Finchem’s suit raised unsupported claims that his loss was marred by misconduct and demanded the results be set aside and the election redone. He’s refused to concede to Democrat Adrian Fontes, who took office in January.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian tossed out Finchem’s lawsuit in December. Fontes and then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is now governor, asked her to sanction Finchem for requiring them to incur the hassle and expense of defending against a baseless lawsuit.
Julian said in a ruling dated March 1 that Finchem must pay the reasonable lawyer fees incurred by the Fontes campaign and by the secretary of state’s office, which Fontes now leads. Those costs have not been determined.
“Mr. Finchem and bad actors like him cannot be permitted to avoid accountability,” Fontes said in a statement. “He continues to grift off of his broken political agenda using fraudulent schemes that take advantage of Arizonans.”
Finchem did not respond to a request for comment. His lawyer, Daniel McCauley, declined to comment.
Even if everything Finchem alleged in his lawsuit was true, Julian wrote, it would not have changed the results of the election, which Finchem lost by 120,000 votes.
Julian, who was appointed by former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, also pointed to McCauley’s comments during a hearing that more experienced election lawyers had refused to take the case but he had little to lose because he was preparing to retire. That, she wrote, is an indication he knew the lawsuit had no merit.
Finchem was a prolific proponent of the lie that former President Donald Trump lost his 2020 reelection because of widespread fraud, which has been repeatedly debunked by courts, election experts and Trump’s own attorney general.
While most of the election deniers who lose their races last year have conceded, three prominent Republicans in Arizona have not. Finchem, candidate for governor Kari Lake and attorney general candidate Abraham Hamadeh have all filed unsuccessful lawsuits challenging their losses and have refused to concede, continuing to point to mishaps that courts have repeatedly said do not throw the results in doubt.
Lake last week appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court after a state appeals court said her lawsuit challenging the election was based on “sheer speculation.” | 2023-03-07T01:13:27+00:00 | keyt.com | https://keyt.com/news/2023/03/06/finchem-sanctioned-over-baseless-arizona-election-suit/ |
Legislation calling for safe patient limits follows nurses filing of more than 8,300 official reports of unsafe staffing that jeopardized the safety of their patients in 2022
MNA legislation filed for the 2023-2024 term focuses on patient care conditions, equal access to essential healthcare services, and workplace violence protection
BOSTON, Jan. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The more than 25,000 nurses and healthcare professionals of the Massachusetts Nurses Association have joined with allies in the Massachusetts House and Senate to file new legislation that would enact safe patient limits for all hospital units through a process led by the Department of Public Health.
The measure responds to a longstanding and growing crisis in Commonwealth patients' access to appropriate nursing care, a crisis that is endangering patients and has driven thousands of nurses away from hospital bedside nursing. The most glaring symptom of this crisis is the recent flurry of high profile strikes by nurses, including the groundbreaking 10-month strike by the St. Vincent Hospital nurses in 2021/2022, as well as more recent strikes or planned strikes in Minnesota, New York and California including several thousand nurses and allied health professionals – all of which called for safer staffing with safer patient limits as a primary issue.
The new patient safety legislation is entitled "An Act Promoting Patient Safety and Equitable Access to Care" and is sponsored by Sen. Lydia Edwards, D-Third Suffolk, and Rep. Natalie Higgins, D-4th Worcester. It features a different approach to developing nurse-patient limits in each unit of acute care hospitals than Question 1, the ballot question put forward by the MNA in 2018. The bill would empower DPH to hold public stakeholder hearings and promulgate regulations that establish specific limits on the number of patients a registered nurse shall be assigned to care for at one time.
"There is absolutely no question that limiting the number of patients a nurse cares for at one time is safer for patients and the only solution to the current nurse staffing crisis," said Katie Murphy, a practicing ICU nurse, and President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. "To be clear, there is no shortage of nurses in Massachusetts, there is a shortage of nurses willing to continue working under the current conditions and staffing practices implemented by profit-driven hospital administrators over the last 15 years. The benefits of safe patient limits were settled science before the pandemic, and today there is even more research and nurse experiences to support this legislation."
"It's about safety," said bill sponsor Senator Lydia Edwards, D-Third Suffolk. "Safety for patients and safety for nurses. I want to know that my nurse is working under the best conditions. To know what works best for nurses means we have to listen to them."
"I am proud to introduce legislation that will help address our nurse staffing and care quality crisis by directing the Department of Public Health to gather feedback and establish safe patient limits for all of our hospitals," said bill sponsor Representative Natalie Higgins, D-4th Worcester. "Our nurses have fought to protect our loved ones during the pandemic, and we need to make sure they can continue to provide that care safely for all of our neighbors."
The approach featured in the new MNA safe patient limits legislation is like that taken by California when it enacted a safe patient limits law in 1999 and implemented it in 2004. Research has shown that California's law reduced nurse workloads, improved recruitment, and retention of nurses, and had a favorable impact on quality of care.
NEW RESEARCH AND DECADES OF SCIENCE SUPPORT SAFE PATIENT LIMITS
A study recently published by a group of professors at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing – including Linda Aiken and Matthew D. McHugh, two of the world's preeminent researchers of nurse-patient limits – demonstrates that nurse staffing problems predate the pandemic, were created by the hospital industry, and require permanent improvements to nurse working conditions. The highlights, as presented in the December 2022 edition of the journal Nursing Outlook, include:
- Better staffed hospitals before pandemic had better outcomes during it.
- Policies to prevent chronic hospital nurse understaffing are needed.
- Minimum hospital patient/nurse ratio policies recommended.
"Chronic nurse understaffing and poor work environments in hospitals that existed prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and worsened during it are the major explanations for why many hospitals cannot hire and keep enough nurses even though Covid-19 hospitalizations have dropped," the study authors concluded.
"Without fundamental improvements in hospital nurse staffing and work environments, the shortage of nursing care in hospitals will not likely abate even after the Covid-19 pandemic has run its course. Increasing the supply of nurses through short-term emergency measures is unlikely to solve the problem. Hospitals need to hire more permanent registered nurses, provide more favorable work environments, and earn back the confidence of nurses that quality and safety of patient care are institutional priorities. Because most hospitals have not implemented substantial improvements in either staffing or work environments over the past decade (Aiken et al., 2018; Sloane et al., 2018), policymakers should mandate hospitals to meet minimum safe nurse staffing standards." (emphasis added)
The study joins decades of scientific research showing the benefits of safely limiting the number of patients a nurse cares for at one time. Recent research on the topic includes:
- "Patient outcomes and cost savings associated with hospital safe nurse staffing legislation: an observational study," BMJ Open, December 2021.
- "Nurse staffing and inpatient mortality in the English National Health Service: a retrospective longitudinal study," BMJ Quality and Safety, September 2022.
- "The association between nurse staffing and inpatient mortality: A shift-level retrospective longitudinal study," International Journal of Nursing Studies, August 2021.
- "Effects of nurse-to-patient ratio legislation on nurse staffing and patient mortality, readmissions, and length of stay: a prospective study in a panel of hospitals," Lancet, May 2021.
- "Is Hospital Nurse Staffing Legislation in the Public's Interest? An Observational Study in New York State," Medical Care, May 2021.
- "Staffing levels and nursing-sensitive patient outcomes: Umbrella review and qualitative study," Health Services Research, March 2021.
- "Chronic hospital nurse understaffing meets COVID-19: an observational study," BMJ Quality and Safety, August 2020.
In addition, there is significant research specific to the California safe patient limits law and research connecting patient limits to safety in Massachusetts hospitals:
- Research Linking Safe Patient Limits to Patient Safety in Massachusetts Hospitals (PDF)
- Research Showing How a Law Setting Safe Patient Limits Has Improved Patient Care for California Hospitals (PDF)
8,300+ UNSAFE STAFFING REPORTS FILED IN 2022
Faced with this industry-created crisis, nurses in 2022 filed at least 8,320 official unsafe staffing reports at hospitals across Massachusetts. These reports document to hospital administrators instances in which nurses were forced to take excessive patient assignments that "poses a serious threat to the safety and well-being of my patients."
"Objection and Documentation of Unsafe Staffing" forms, as they are called, are used by nurses in all MNA-represented hospitals, which is 73% of the state's acute care hospitals. They are a tool for nurses to document, in real time, any situation where they come on their shift and are given an assignment that is unsafe for their patients, which prevents them from delivering the quality care those patients require.
The MNA has established a webpage featuring examples of unsafe staffing reports at www.massnurses.org/unsafeexamples. A newborn baby, who was supposed to be cared for by a single nurse, lay screaming for 10 minutes in a pediatric unit on Cape Cod while nurses struggled to manage another patient admitted in severe pain. Patients needed continuous telemetry and oxygen monitoring but are in an unsafe situation in a hallway in the Brigham and Women's Hospital ED. A Beth Israel Plymouth nurse struggled with a high patient assignment in the Senior Behavioral Health Unit, including patients at risk for falls, with impulsivity and severe aggression. "This is not safe!" wrote a desperate nurse in the Cooley Dickinson Hospital ED about a shift when they need 11 nurses and had only nine.
The examples include a vivid explanation of a harrowing patient assignment given to a St. Vincent Hospital nurse. "Even with help from my colleagues, it was a terrible day, which left me sitting in my car, weeping, a broken heap of a nurse. I really wanted to walk that day," the nurse wrote.
These reports are an effort by nurses to communicate their concerns to management so that steps can be taken to improve care. In fact, in the hospitals represented by the MNA, nurses often meet monthly with hospital administrators where they present these reports in the hope of creating meaningful solutions. But rarely, if ever, are steps taken to address these issues. In other instances, nurses, like the nurses at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton had to file a federal complaint with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services over chronic and dangerous understaffing and patient safety concerns in the hospital's emergency department, after failed attempts to convince to address the crisis.
NEW STAFFING BILL EVOLVES FROM PREVIOUS EFFORTS
In 2019, the MNA filed the Workforce Development and Patient Safety Act following the defeat of Question 1. The legislation was an effort to clear up the confusion and misinformation caused by the intense debate over the issue of safe patient limits for nurses and the hospital industry spending more than $30 million on TV and radio advertising, as well as on direct mail to voters and policymakers, much of it containing misleading information about the issue to scare the public into opposing the measure. That legislation would have funded independent research studies on nurse staffing, the supply of nurses, and measures of care quality.
Since the pandemic hit, those issues have become much clearer. As evidenced in the research described above, numerous studies have shown the efficacy of safe patient limits in several different places. As WBUR has documented, there is not a shortage of nurses in Massachusetts. Rather, there is a shortage of nurses willing to work under the current conditions at the bedside. In addition, countless media stories and the MNA's State of Nursing in Massachusetts survey demonstrate a care quality problem that must be addressed with nurse retention and recruitment tools that are accountable to the public and not just hospital executives. According to the 2022 survey, more than 8 in 10 nurses have seen hospital care quality worsen significantly, with 69% saying their biggest obstacle was understaffing and having too many patients.
"Now is the time for safe patient limits to help fix our broken healthcare system, address our staffing crisis and give the public a way to hold hospitals accountable for the quality of nursing care," Murphy said. "Everyone deserves a safe standard of hospital care, and this advocacy – this fight we continue to wage on behalf of our patients – won't be over until we achieve that goal."
HOSPITAL EXECUTIVES CALLED FOR POST-QUESTION 1 NURSE STAFFING SOLUTIONS
After Question 1 was defeated in 2018, the Massachusetts hospital industry explicitly said it would continue looking for solutions. MHA President & CEO Steve Walsh said in a statement, "This is not a victory, but an opportunity to continue to find solutions together as health care professionals -- working together, as one, for patients. Question 1 forced some difficult and necessary discussions about the future of healthcare and the future of our workforce going forward."
The Cape Cod Times reported that Michael Lauf, president, and CEO of Cape Cod Healthcare, sent a statement to staff after the Question 1 vote saying now is the "opportunity to begin a greater conversation" about reforming health care. However, when the pandemic hit our state, Lauf decided to furlough more than 600 hospital staff, and then closed the maternity unit at Falmouth Hospital. A report subsequently issued by the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association did not include any enforceable staffing improvement measures.
"Unlike nurses, hospital executives cannot be trusted to fix our broken healthcare system and staffing crisis," Murphy said. "When the pandemic hit, hospitals were already barely staffed to meet corporate financial priorities. Hospital executives then exclaimed in wonder that they did not have enough healthcare workers. Safe patient limits will help halt this damaging cycle and prepare us better for future health crises."
In addition to the new safe patient limits law, the MNA is filing with its legislative sponsors nearly 20 other bills. Proposed legislation includes clarifying the existing ban on nurse mandatory overtime, workplace violence prevention, protection for essential services, and bills to address the mental healthcare crisis. New legislation filed this term by the MNA includes bills to prevent home health violence, address the danger of surgical smoke, and examine the state of essential services across the Commonwealth. Click here for the full MNA 2023-2024 legislative agenda.
MassNurses.org │ Facebook.com/MassNurses │ Twitter.com/MassNurses │ Instagram.com/MassNurses
Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 25,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association | 2023-01-19T19:46:22+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/01/19/new-approach-safe-patient-limits-beacon-hill-by-mna-nurses-healthcare-professionals-joins-legislation-tackle-longstanding-amp-untenable-staffing-conditions-exacerbated-by-covid-19-pandemic/ |
MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening's drawing of the Wisconsin Lottery's "Daily Pick 3" game were:
8-7-1
(eight, seven, one)
¶ Maximum prize: $500
MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening's drawing of the Wisconsin Lottery's "Daily Pick 3" game were:
8-7-1
(eight, seven, one)
¶ Maximum prize: $500 | 2022-11-12T04:06:16+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-Pick-3-game-17578916.php |
NEW OFFERING CONNECTS BRAND PARTNERS WITH WORLD'S LARGEST INVENTORY OF UNIQUE ARTIST AND MUSIC CONTENT FROM UMG
NEW YORK, June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Music Group for Brands (UMGB), the global partnerships division of Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced the public launch of the UMusic Media Network – a comprehensive media and data offering to uniquely connect brands and partners with exclusive media from world's largest music company and most iconic and influential artists.
The UMusic Media Network offers brands access to the world's largest inventory of unique music video content and spans across the global ecosystem's leading social media platforms. UMG is ranked #1 in Music and #2 in Entertainment on ComScore for U.S. digital reach. Within one program, brand partners can exclusively access premium, culturally relevant content from some of the world's most viewed and engaged artists, alongside UMG's industry-leading data and insights. UMG is the world's leading music-based visual entertainment company, with tens of thousands of hours of video content and more than 4 trillion minutes of cumulative watch time of UMG content on YouTube.
For the first time, the offering allows for audience hypertargeting at a scale through the most exciting music videos and artist driven content. Partners will be able to tap into UMG official music videos, songs and lyrics videos, original content, behind-the-scenes and artist vlogs, and lifestyle content from UMG-owned platforms such as Rebel Labs, Mercury Studios and Polygram Entertainment. The network will also offer branded content and partnership opportunities across the company's labels and artists, providing a uniquely holistic and creative solution for each advertiser's objectives and needs.
With massive growth in demand for premium video advertising to run alongside popular music content, UMG's UMusic Media Network will help unlock value for UMG artists worldwide and maximize opportunities for UMGB advertising partners. UMG's consolidated digital properties draw more than 150 million unique visitors monthly across desktop, smartphones and tablets in the U.S. alone. This impactful and engaging content coupled with market-leading data and insights will help brands identify exactly where they can be most effective in reaching both primary and new audiences, and further establish their authenticity while creating amplification around programming.
The UMusic Media Network will be led by Richard Yaffa, Executive VP, Global Head of UMGB, and Morgan Buksbaum, Senior VP of Media and Properties at UMGB, and is fully integrated into UMG's global operations, utilizing the resources of key divisions including; commercial services & UMGB, led by Michele Anthony (Executive Vice President, UMG), digital strategy led by Michael Nash (Executive Vice President, Digital Strategy), data, e-commerce and media led by Richelle Parham (President Global E-Commerce and Business Development), and digital rights administration, led by Todd Rosenberg (SVP, Business Development & Content Strategy) to create a cohesive and comprehensive support network for partner campaigns.
The launch comes after a year-long BETA program that has seen advertisers content achieve millions of views from music fans globally, alongside artist content. With an established track record, UMGB has worked across all major media buying agencies, holding companies and creative agencies to support partner campaigns and create authentic culturally relevant connections alongside UMG content.
"The UMusic Media Network brings together UMG's unmatched artist roster, marketing capabilities and resources to empower brands and partners directly. Through this cutting-edge new platform, UMG artists can create destination programming exclusively for brands, giving our partners the ability to hyper-target culturally relevant content where they have not been able to do before," said Richard Yaffa, Executive VP, Global Head of UMGB. "When advertisers connect with culturally relevant content and associate their brand with our artists, consumers feel greater brand affinity and engage with those ads more actively."
Michele Anthony, Executive Vice President, UMG said, "The UMusic Media Network combines the unique collective resources that only UMG, as the world's leading music-based entertainment company can provide to partners, creating an unrivalled service that leverages and delivers the reach, power and influence that great music and artist content can bring, while creating value for our artists, labels and our partners."
UMG is home to the world's leading artists and songwriters. In 2021, eight of the world's top ten-selling artists on the IFPI global charts were signed to or distributed by UMG labels including BTS (1), Taylor Swift (2), Drake (4), The Weeknd (6), Billie Eilish (7), Justin Bieber (8), SEVENTEEN (9) and Olivia Rodrigo (10). In addition, all six of the musicians that feature in the world's top ten influencers by combined social media following are UMG artists. UMG offers leading content creation resources and teams across film, TV, branded content, podcasting and more. Over the past two years, UMGB has won 19 Clio's for outstanding brand campaigns integrating music and artists.
The new offering of UMusic Media Network from the world leader in music-based entertainment further leverages the power of music and culture to accelerate business and provides additional unique global approaches to making brands culturally relevant. UMG has the strongest global network of labels and publishing companies, with divisions covering 200 markets and content relevant to all audiences and demographics worldwide.
Leveraging the power of music and culture to accelerate business, UMG for Brands offers a unique global approach to making brands culturally relevant and brand marketing, with teams across 74 countries. Whether a brand is looking to shift perception, reach a new generation, boost sales or build loyalty; UMG for Brands helps define a brand's authentic voice in culture. Recent CLIO and Cannes Lions wins are a testament of the true synergy that can be achieved between culturally relevant artists and brands.
At Universal Music Group, we exist to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content. Featuring the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms, and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. For more information, visit www.universalmusic.com
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SOURCE Universal Music Group | 2022-06-22T23:05:29+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/06/22/universal-music-group-brands-launches-advanced-media-data-platform-umusic-media-network/ |
Mother warns parents of online game that led to the death of her 15-year-old daughter
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT/Gray News) - With hundreds of online platforms just a click away and easily accessible, victims of peer pressure and online bullying are getting younger and younger.
Its most recent victim was 15-year-old Mena Willis, a teenage girl who took her own life in her high school’s bathroom on Oct. 7.
Mena’s big sister, Leloni Willis, said it came as a big shock.
“At one point, I just stopped and cried and cried. I couldn’t breathe,” she told WLBT.
Mena’s mother, Leslie Shoemake, said her daughter struggled with depression for almost three years. With help from the school, Mena was able to manage it.
Then one day, everything changed when Mena came across a game inside Roblox where users pressured her into completing self-harming challenges, including cutting, hanging, and starving herself.
Roblox is an online game platform and game creation system where people can interact with each other as well as program games, and play games created by others.
“In this event that the children refuse to complete the self-harming task, the game on Roblox states that they will then harm the children’s family members,” Shoemake said.
Shoemake said her daughter was always trying to be a protector and often the listening ear for her family, and as a result, kept her troubles to herself.
“She will come and talk to us, though. Like everything’s going to be OK. And you just gotta, you know, encourage us,” Shoemake said.
Leloni Willis said Mena didn’t share the issues she was dealing with.
“At the same time, she was battling with all problems; she was trying to be the little big sister to all of us. The more mature one, the one who understands,” Leloni Willis said.
Shoemake said Mena’s death is stirring change in the Choctaw Tribe and mental health is being spoken about more as she seeks to warn others.
“My little girl is the hero, and I’m very proud of her,” she said.
Shoemake said she hopes she can be part of the solution and plans to create the Mena’s Hope Foundation, which will support those struggling with depression.
Copyright 2022 WLBT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | 2022-10-22T02:05:30+00:00 | mysuncoast.com | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/10/22/mother-warns-parents-online-game-that-led-death-her-15-year-old-daughter/ |
Once again, the German Design Council has honored technical innovations with its German Innovation Award in Berlin. DERMALOG Identification Systems GmbH received an award for its new camera system that simplifies border checks.
BERLIN and HAMBURG, Germany, June 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With its CT1 Camera Tower, DERMALOG has developed a new technology for automated face capture. The solution's core is DERMALOG's integrated facial recognition, which ensures that the system automatically adjusts to a person's head height. An expert jury of the German Design Council has now honored the innovative camera system with the German Innovation Award 2022.
From a distance of up to 2 m, the CT1 captures faces and provides portraits that meet the latest ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) requirements. In addition, the DERMALOG solution features integrated PAD (Presentation Attack Detection) and a non-contact body temperature check. As a result, the CT1 is particularly suitable for operation in the area of screened national borders.
"Biometrics is becoming increasingly important in the field of border control," says DERMALOG CEO Günther Mull. "For example, biometric data is an important component of the future European Union entry/exit system. Our automated solutions significantly contribute to secure and fast data processing and ensure a seamless process at border crossings."
Besides the CT1 Camera Tower, DERMALOG offers another innovative solution with the DERMALOG Self Registration Kiosk. In addition to facial recognition, this kiosk also captures passport and fingerprint data. Both systems are already successfully in operation and support border authorities in numerous countries.
- Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -
Press contact:
DERMALOG Identification Systems GmbH
Sven Böckler
Media Relations
+49 (0)40 413 227 - 0
info@dermalog.com
www.dermalog.com
SOURCE DERMALOG Identification Systems GmbH | 2022-06-16T10:51:54+00:00 | kmvt.com | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/06/16/dermalogs-smart-border-control-solution-receives-innovation-award/ |
– Deven McGraw to serve a 3-year term beginning in 2023 –
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Invitae (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, announced the appointment by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) of Deven McGraw, lead of data stewardship and data sharing at Invitae, to the National Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC).
Established as part of the 21st Century Cures Act in 2016, HITAC provides recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on policies, standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria relating to the implementation of a health information technology infrastructure that advances the electronic access, exchange, and use of health information.
"I am honored to be appointed to HITAC to help shape the nation's health information policy, particularly as it relates to increasing access to important patient health data in a way that is ethical and transparent," said McGraw. "Through my participation on HITAC's 2022 Adopted Standards Task Force subcommittee, I've already had the opportunity to advise on the existing set of ONC adopted standards and am looking forward to continuing my work with this impressive group on the full committee. Invitae's mission to increase access to and interoperability of consented patient health information will provide a valuable perspective as we work towards the mission of improving healthcare IT."
McGraw's term will begin on January 1, 2023. McGraw also serves on a subcommittee advising the State of California on its data sharing framework policies and procedures. In her role at Invitae, McGraw is lead for data stewardship and data sharing. She co-founded and was the Chief Regulatory Officer of Ciitizen, a health technology company acquired by Invitae that works to enable patients to collect, manage, and share their medical information. Her previous experience includes serving as the Deputy Director of Health Information Privacy within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, as the Acting Chief Privacy Officer for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, and as a partner with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. McGraw received her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center and her Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
For more information on the committee, visit the HITAC website.
About Invitae
Invitae is a leading medical genetics company trusted by millions of patients and their providers to deliver timely genetic information simplified by digital technology. With accurate and actionable answers to strengthen medical decision-making, Invitae gives individuals and their families powerful, personalized insights that could improve and extend their lives. Invitae's genetics experts apply a rigorous approach to data and research, serving as the foundation of their mission: to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people.
To learn more, visit invitae.com and follow for updates on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @Invitae.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the company's mission to increase access to and interoperability of consented patient health information. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the company's history of losses; the company's ability to compete; the company's failure to manage growth effectively; the company's need to scale its infrastructure in advance of demand for its tests and to increase demand for its tests; the company's ability to use rapidly changing genetic data to interpret test results accurately and consistently; security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions; laws and regulations applicable to the company's business; and the other risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Invitae Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Renee Kelley
pr@invitae.com
(628) 213-3283
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SOURCE Invitae Corporation | 2022-12-19T23:15:33+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/12/19/invitae-executive-appointed-national-health-information-technology-advisory-committee/ |
Enhances Zero Waste to Landfill and sustainable waste services for over 2,500 industrial customers
CLEVELAND, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is pleased to announce the sale of Circon Holdings, Inc. (Circon), an industry leader in innovative waste management solutions and a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, LLC (Kinderhook), to Covanta Holding Corporation (Covanta), a leader in sustainable materials management and a portfolio company of EQT Infrastructure. BGL's Environmental & Industrial Services investment banking team served as lead financial advisor to Circon in the transaction. The specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The addition of Circon's services doubles Covanta's wastewater footprint, grows its engineered fuels business five-fold, and catapults Covanta into a leading position in the growing alternative fuels field for kilns. It also meaningfully expands the company's footprint in the Gulf Coast and Midwest regions. The addition of Circon marks the largest single acquisition for Covanta in two decades, bringing with it more than 600 new employees and 2,500 customers.
Headquartered in La Porte, Texas, Circon is a full-service provider of environmental services with a customer base across more than 20 waste facilities in the Midwest, Southeast, and Gulf Coast. As part of its sustainability-focused service offering, Circon leads the market in manufacturing waste-derived fuels. This acquisition is noteworthy for Covanta due to Circon's geographic reach across multiple regions of the country and its suite of circularity offerings in wastewater treatment and non-hazardous and hazardous waste management. Circon amplifies Covanta's ability to provide more last-mile sustainability solutions to its blue-chip customer base and transform their waste into value-based materials.
BGL's Environmental & Industrial Services (EIS) investment banking team has been a leader in the North American market in Environmental Services transaction volume for more than eight years, according to PitchBook.com. The EIS team focuses on businesses that perform essential services to the commercial, industrial, infrastructure, power and energy, and municipal markets. We have executed numerous transactions related to a broad range of industrial and environmental investments and have developed significant expertise in many subsectors, including sustainability, waste and recycling, environmental and industrial field services, infrastructure services, and commercial services.
About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm focused on the global middle market. The firm advises private and public corporations and private equity groups on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructurings, business valuations and opinions, and other strategic matters. BGL has investment banking offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and New York, and real estate offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and San Antonio. The firm is also a founding member of Global M&A Partners, enabling BGL to service clients in more than 35 countries around the world. Securities transactions are conducted through Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC and a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com.
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SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company | 2023-05-01T19:05:32+00:00 | kwch.com | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/05/01/bgl-announces-sale-circon-covanta/ |
Greek authorities rescue 91 migrants from river islet on border with Turkey
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities rescued 91 migrants from a river islet and transferred them to a processing center near the border with Turkey, police said Sunday.
Police said that the group included 32 men, 25 women and 34 children. The Red Cross was present at the operation. Several migrants told police they were from Syria.
The migrants had been on an islet on Evros River at least since Friday, when nongovernmental organizations emailed Greek authorities alerting them to their presence there. Part of the islet is Greek soil and part is Turkish. By early Sunday, the migrants had moved to the Greek side, enabling the rescue operation, a statement from the prime minister’s office said.
The river’s low water levels of late “favors the illegal crossing of migrants, using islets that fall on both Greek and Turkish territory … the Greek government has appealed to the Turkish government, which was sworn in (Saturday), to coordinate border authorities and prevent illegal crossings,” the statement added.
Almost all of the land border between Greece and Turkey is formed by the Evros River, called Meric in Turkey. The Evros is a key crossing point into Greece for people seeking a better life in the European Union. Greece has built a high fence along much of the border to prevent migrants crossing, and is planning to further extend it.
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Demetris Nellas reported from Athens.
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Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2023-06-04T19:31:12+00:00 | kob.com | https://www.kob.com/news/business-money/greek-authorities-rescue-91-migrants-from-river-islet-on-border-with-turkey/ |
The NewStore mobile point-of-sale now powers retail operations for the UK-based women's activewear and lifestyle brand
BOSTON, July 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NewStore, a modular, mobile-first omnichannel cloud platform for retail brands worldwide, today announced Sweaty Betty has rolled out its mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) in 73 stores across the UK & Ireland. By replacing its legacy POS with NewStore, the London-based brand now runs its retail operations entirely on iPhone, laying the groundwork for the company's omnichannel transformation.
"Sweaty Betty has quickly grown from a small London boutique to an international business. During this process, we recognized the importance of providing a seamless and scalable omnichannel experience for our customers and store colleagues," said Simon Pakenham-Walsh, Chief Technology Officer, Sweaty Betty. "We selected NewStore because its platform does not carry the complex technical debt of the industry's legacy solutions, and the company's vision aligns perfectly with our strategy, which includes having an extensible, modern, and API-first technology stack."
For 25 years, Sweaty Betty has been on a mission to empower women through fitness and beyond. The brand is known for its range of high-quality apparel and accessories designed for performance and style. Its products are sold in-store, online, and through the brand's various wholesale partners. With NewStore, Sweaty Betty has unified its direct offline and online channels, improving the customer experience and driving operational efficiency.
"The NewStore platform has had a tremendous impact on our day-to-day operations. Not only were we able to implement the technology quickly, but it has also reduced the operational workload of our store and support office teams by 75 percent," added Jessica Coleman, Omnichannel Product Owner, Sweaty Betty. "NewStore has given autonomy back to our employees, enabling them to provide exceptional service and enhance the overall customer experience."
Sweaty Betty has seen other benefits from the NewStore deployment as well, including enhanced mobility, leading to more personalized, high-touch customer interactions. Additionally, the NewStore mPOS empowers store associates to swiftly assist customers during peak shopping hours, shortening wait times and optimizing the checkout experience. The intuitive user interface of the NewStore platform has also streamlined the refund process. Last but not least, NewStore has simplified the training and onboarding process for store associates, ensuring they are well-equipped to deliver value for both the brand and its shoppers as quickly as possible.
"Sweaty Betty's decision to implement NewStore underscores its commitment to innovation and customer-centricity. It is also a testament to our platform's ease of use and scalability," said Stephan Schambach, Founder and CEO, NewStore. "By embracing a mobile-first omnichannel strategy, Sweaty Betty is setting the standard for DTC brands in the activewear space, and we will continue to play a pivotal role in the company's transformation."
Now that all of Sweaty Betty's store locations are live on the NewStore platform, both organizations will further improve how customers interact with the brand. In the next few months, the company will start rolling out additional omnichannel features that allow employees to better guide shoppers and create more meaningful relationships.
For more information on how NewStore has accelerated Sweaty Betty's omnichannel journey, read the full case study here: https://www.newstore.com/resource/sweaty-betty-case-study/
About Sweaty Betty
Leading global activewear and lifestyle brand Sweaty Betty has been on a mission to empower women through fitness and beyond since 1998. The brand's loyal, fast-growing and global community of active women has female empowerment and inclusivity at its core. Famous for bum-sculpting leggings and innovative prints, Sweaty Betty combines fitness and style with technical, high-performance fabrics and responsibly sourced materials. Based in London, the design team create multi-sport, beautiful and technical clothes that flatter a woman's body, giving her the confidence to take on the world.
In addition to its website which services customers globally, Sweaty Betty has shops in the UK and Asia, in addition to being in Selfridges, Harrods and shop-in-shops in Nordstrom stores across North America. The brand's products can also be found at leading retailers all over the world.
For more information, please visit www.sweatybetty.com. Sweaty Betty is a division of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW).
About NewStore
NewStore provides Omnichannel-as-a-Service for retail brands worldwide that want to accelerate their digital transformation. Built with MACH principles, NewStore allows brands to easily deliver amazing shopping experiences that store associates and consumers love. Its mobile-first, modular cloud platform includes POS, order management, clienteling, inventory, and native consumer apps. NewStore customers such as Burton, Faherty Brand, G-Star RAW, Marine Layer, Roots Canada, Scotch & Soda, UNTUCKit, and Vince benefit from the most complete, global omnichannel retail solution available — now supercharged with Tap to Pay on iPhone. The company is backed by General Catalyst, Activant Capital, and Salesforce Ventures. Learn more at www.newstore.com
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SOURCE NewStore, Inc. | 2023-07-19T08:06:37+00:00 | newschannel10.com | https://www.newschannel10.com/prnewswire/2023/07/19/sweaty-betty-transforms-retail-experience-with-newstore-mobile-first-omnichannel-platform/ |
TSX-V: MKO; OTCQX: MAKOF
VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Mako Mining Corp. (TSXV: MKO) (OTCQX: MAKOF) ("Mako" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an interim Q4 2022 production update from its San Albino gold mine ("San Albino") in northern Nicaragua, the announcement of a plant expansion to 600 tonnes per day ("tpd") with no additional capex, and a general corporate update. Financial results for Q3 2022, including detailed reporting of our operating costs, are expected to be released on November 21, 2022. All dollar amounts herein are expressed in US dollars.
In the Company's Q3 2022 production results update (see October 21st, 2022 press release), Mako announced that it had rectified the issues which led to reduced recovery rates from March through August 2022 (77% Q3 2022 recoveries vs. 86% expected), and lower throughputs for the quarter which were implemented in order to observe the effects of increased plant residence time on recovery rates (481tpd, including availability, vs. 500tpd expected). The Company is pleased to announce that the plant is now operating significantly above nameplate capacity, with recoveries at expected levels. During October, the mill operated at 539 tpd at 97% availability (4.6% above nameplate capacity), with 85.6% recoveries, and 3,518 ounces of recovered gold (see Table 1).
The Company sold a total of 5,455 ounces of gold in the first half of Q4 2022 (from October 1st through November 15th), putting the Company on track for record gold sales in Q4 2022.
In November, the Company commissioned a pre-leach thickener circuit that will allow for higher material density, allowing increased throughput rates without sacrificing any residence time. The pre-leach thickener will also result in optimized cyclone performance due to a reduced cyclone feed density which will improve leach circuit performance. By the end of the quarter, Mako expects to be operating at 600 tpd with no additional capex and minimal recovery losses.
Akiba Leisman, Chief Executive Officer of Mako states that, "Q4 is starting out very strong, and we now expect record gold sales at San Albino. Now that the recovery issues from March through August have been fully resolved, it is clear that the plant can operate at substantially higher throughputs than what it was originally designed for without the need for any additional capital. After the relatively weak Q2 and Q3 quarters, this will have a significantly positive impact on costs, cash flow and earnings beginning this quarter."
The Company's Q3 2022 financial statements and management discussion and analysis are expected to be filed on Monday November 21, 2022. As mentioned above, the 9% reduction in recoveries vs. expectations, the 4% reduction of plant throughput in order to increase plant residence time, and the last shipment of gold being sold after quarter end, meant Q3 gold sales were approximately 1,700 ounces less than what they would have otherwise been, lowering mine operating cash flow by 15-20%, and increasing AISC1 to approximately $1330/oz, including corporate overhead.
Given the performance of the plant in the current quarter, which we expect to continue for the foreseeable future, AISC will be reduced by approximately $200 per ounce beginning in Q4 2022.
In October 2020, Mako published its National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report and Estimate of Mineral Resources for the San Albino Project. A portion of that published mineral resource formed the basis of our non-cash depletion and depreciation calculation through Q3 2022.
Subsequently, the Company has added certain previously delineated mineral resources into a mine plan and identified additional mineral resources within the San Albino mine area, which are expected to increase the base of the estimated tonnes to be depleted going forward. In addition, we expect that a maiden mineral resource at Las Conchitas (which currently has no carrying value) will be incorporated into a separate mine plan beginning early next year. In this context, we expect to see a materially lower depletion and depreciation expense, and a significant increase in net income starting in Q4 2022.
John Rust, a metallurgical engineer and qualified person (as defined under NI 43-101) has read and approved the technical information contained in this press release. Mr. Rust is a senior metallurgist and a consultant to the Company.
On behalf of the Board,
Akiba Leisman
Chief Executive Officer
Mako Mining Corp. is a publicly listed gold mining, development and exploration company. The Company operates the high-grade San Albino gold mine in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, which ranks as one of the highest-grade open pit gold mines globally. Mako's primary objective is to operate San Albino profitably and fund exploration of prospective targets on its district-scale land package.
Forward-Looking Information: Statements contained herein, other than historical fact, may be considered "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The forward-looking information contained herein is based on the Company's plans and certain expectations and assumptions, including that the Company's financial results for Q3 2022, including detailed reporting of operating costs, are expected to be released on November 21, 2022; that the Company is on track for record gold sales in Q4 2022; that by the end of the quarter, Mako expects to be operating at 600 tpd with no additional capex and minimal recovery losses; that the additional mineral resources identified within the San Albino mine area are expected to increase the base of the estimated tonnes to be depleted going forward; the expectation that a maiden mineral resource at Las Conchitas (which currently has no carrying value) will be incorporated into a separate mine plan beginning early next year, and depletion and depreciation expenses will be dramatically lower beginning in Q4, thus causing a significant increase in net income starting in Q4 2022;and that the Company can operate San Albino profitably in order to fund exploration of prospective targets on its district-scale land package. Such forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, the risk that the filing of the Company's financial results are delayed beyond November 21, 2022; that the Company does not achieve record gold sales in Q4 2022 as a result of operations not meeting the expectations set out in this news release; that financial results will not be as expected for Q4 2022; that the October 24, 2022 Measures ultimate have a significant impact on the Company's Nicaraguan operations; that the Company is not successful in operating San Albino profitably and/or funding its exploration of prospective targets on its district-scale land package; political risks and uncertainties involving the Company's exploration properties; the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expense; commodity price fluctuations and other risks and uncertainties as disclosed in the Company's public disclosure filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof, based on information currently available and is included for the purposes of providing investors with the Company's expectations regarding its interim Q4 2022production results at San Albino gold project, and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Mako does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
visit our website at www.makominingcorp.com and SEDAR www.sedar.com.
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SOURCE Mako Mining Corp. | 2022-11-16T13:03:58+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/11/16/mako-mining-track-record-q4-gold-sales-announces-plant-capacity-expansion-600tpd-with-no-additional-capex-provides-corporate-update/ |
The Wyoming Department of Transportation has released a revised set of rules for towing and recovery vehicles that have been in the works for years. The rules cover a wide range of industry practices ranging from equipment to customer service.
The rules are open for public comment through July 21. If given a green light by the Wyoming Transportation Commission during its meeting in August, the changes are expected to provide a layer of regulation for an industry that is generally unregulated at the state and national levels.
Those with ties to the industry say they’ve heard complaints about how Wyoming’s towing industry operates, whether it be over alleged involvement of inexperienced or out-of-state companies or an alleged epidemic of price gouging that’s pushed by some companies.
The new set of regulations are meant to decrease instances of complaints and formalize policies that were already in practice.
“I think it will help curb some of those issues,” said Rodney Miears, Towing and Recovery Program coordinator for the Wyoming Highway Patrol. “I think there will always be some of those issues. This will certainly help.”
The regulations are the result of years of work from the state’s Towing Advisory Board, a group of industry professionals who were organized in 2018 to begin the process of re-introducing regulation to the industry after it was deregulated by the federal government in 1994.
The proposed set of regulations are not part of the Wyoming statutes, but will be enforced by Wyoming Highway Patrol within its jurisdiction. Penalties for violating the outlined rules include levels of suspension or removal from the WHP’s call rotation list.
WHP troopers use the rotation list to decide which towing and recovery company to call when responding to a crash scene that requires those services.
The proposed regulations include standards companies must meet to get on the rotation list. These include provisions that drivers must pass a background check and their equipment must meet a minimum threshold of safety requirements.
The rules also outline how WHP will determine if a company is meeting their obligations to keep rates fair and reasonable. WHP will consider fee schedules, posted rates, quotes and rates charges for similar services.
In 2021, the Wyoming Highway Patrol received 40 complaints about towing companies, most from commercial trucking outfits, Miears said during a January interview. That number is down from previous years, however.
The Highway Patrol responds to anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 calls a year for crashes that need a tow truck. Especially when recovering a semitrailer hauling goods across the state, the bills can quickly add up to tens of thousands of dollars.
One example
The issue with Wyoming being a relatively unregulated state for towing and recovery services was highlighted in January with a story about a Rawlins company accused of price gouging a long-haul trucking company.
Blue Line Distribution, a carrier based in Ontario, Canada, received a $77,280 bill Dec. 11 from Maps Towing and Diesel Repair Inc. of Rawlins for the recovery of a semitrailer that slid off the road on I-80 between Laramie and Rawlins, according to an invoice obtained by the Rawlins Times.
Blue Line ended up negotiating a settlement of $50,000 to retrieve its truck from the tow company’s property. Shortly thereafter, the company filed a complaint with the Wyoming Highway Patrol, demanding $45,000 of the fee be refunded.
The tow company “basically held us (for) ransom, and they got what they wanted,” said Blue Line owner Tom Della Maestra.
Despite disputing the charge, Blue Line had to pay up to regain access to its truck and cargo, he said.
Among some of the itemized charges on Blue Line’s bill was a $6,400 inclement weather fee; a $3,200 charge for a “supervisor” on site; $5,600 for “traffic control,” which a photo shows as setting up some cones around the scene; another $3,200 to give the truck’s driver a ride back to Rawlins; and a $10,080 “processing fee.”
A step in the right direction
For some in the industry, the regulations won’t be enough to solve the issues faced by business owners and customers, but they are a step in the right direction.
“I think this is a good start,” said Andy Burg, chairman of the Towing Advisory Board and longtime owner of a towing and recovery business. “It’s not everything I like or want, but it’s a good start to getting a hold of our state.”
Burg is in favor of the rules outlining consequences for failure to comply with regulations, which he says weren’t always applied in the past. There should be more requirements for recovery outfits to prove their knowledge and experience before getting on the tow rotation list, he said.
Towing and recovery companies have faced increased operating costs as prices for gas and insurance continue to skyrocket. Burg said if the towing industry is going to be regulated, he’d like to see rules on those industries as well.
He also highlighted the importance of collaboration between towing and recovery companies and Wyoming Highway Patrol.
“We’re good friends,” Burg said. “I really believe in that. To work with somebody right you can’t be forceful and try to tell them how to do their job.”
Public comments on the rule revisions can be submitted to dot-managementservices@wyo.gov or sent by mail and must be received by 5 p.m. July 21. A public hearing will be held on that date at 3 p.m. at the WYDOT auditorium in Cheyenne.
Virtual meeting access instructions will be available at dot.state.wy.us/home.html at least one week before the meeting. | 2022-06-17T12:48:52+00:00 | wyomingnews.com | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/a-hitch-in-the-system-wydot-proposes-new-rules-for-towing-recovery-industry/article_92ad2af3-a508-51bc-bb6d-14f504dc5086.html |
12 people injured in shooting at Baton Rouge nightclub
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12 people injured in shooting at Baton Rouge nightclub
Authorities in Louisiana say 12 people were injured in a shooting at a nightclub in Baton Rouge early Sunday.One of the victims is in critical condition, while the rest are listed as stable, police said. No arrests have been made.The shooting occurred inside the Dior Bar & Lounge around 1:30 a.m., said Sgt. L'Jean McKneely Jr., a police spokesman.While no arrests have been made and the motive for the shootings is unknown, McKneely said the police department does have leads."People are talking and we know that we can get some information to help us with our investigation," McKneely said.No additional information about the shooting, victims or investigation was provided at this time.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
BATON ROUGE, La. —
Authorities in Louisiana say 12 people were injured in a shooting at a nightclub in Baton Rouge early Sunday.
One of the victims is in critical condition, while the rest are listed as stable, police said. No arrests have been made.
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The shooting occurred inside the Dior Bar & Lounge around 1:30 a.m., said Sgt. L'Jean McKneely Jr., a police spokesman.
While no arrests have been made and the motive for the shootings is unknown, McKneely said the police department does have leads.
"People are talking and we know that we can get some information to help us with our investigation," McKneely said.
No additional information about the shooting, victims or investigation was provided at this time.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | 2023-01-22T20:08:05+00:00 | kcra.com | https://www.kcra.com/article/baton-rouge-club-mass-shooting/42610952 |
March really took us places. We got a revivified version of the massively influential Resident Evil 4, a new baseball game that celebrated pioneering Black players, and the season finale of an acclaimed The Last of Us adaptation — evidence of video game stories' growing cultural currency.
In short, it was another busy month on the beat. NPR staff played March's other big releases, and caught up with a few VR titles from earlier this year.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
Platinum Games made some wild choices in designing Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon for the Nintendo Switch. They took a character famous for stylish violence and sensuality, shrunk her down, and made her wander a vast forest as a lost little girl. Gone are the gun heels and the ridiculous combos. Instead, you'll rely on rhythm-based spells, elemental abilities, and simple brawn to conquer impish faeries and environmental puzzles.
But here's what's really audacious: you'll spend much of the game controlling two characters, independently, with one controller. Push the left joystick to move Cereza (AKA, kid Bayonetta). Push the right to move Cheshire, a demon reluctantly possessing Cereza's beloved cat doll.
Naturally, each has their strengths. Cereza can bind enemies and activate magical flowers, mushrooms, and the like. But she can't actually hurt anything. That's up to Cheshire, who can leap into action as a giant cat-monster, ready to tear into enemies and smash through obstacles like thorns and rocks.
The control scheme resembles 2013's Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, only more fluid, even arcade-y. Where Brothers used the dual-character format to deliver a wrenching story, Cereza and the Lost Demon uses it to tickle your brain and vex your fingers. It can feel like the schoolyard challenge to rub your tummy and pat your head at once.
You don't have to go it alone, though. You can always just hand a Joy-Con to a buddy, and suddenly you're playing an (unofficial) co-op game, where the challenge isn't hand-eye coordination, but rather verbal communication. I got through most of the game with my wife, who enjoyed Cheshire's pure destructive force, while I played support as Cereza.
All in all, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a curious beast. It's got the quality animation and aesthetic you'd expect from Platinum Games, but little of its baroque, intense action. It also lacks the mechanical depth of truly cooperative games like It Takes Two. But Cereza and the Lost Demon does succeed at making you feel like you're playing a team slowly learning to work together — whether you're doing that by yourself, or with a friend.
-James Mastromarino, NPR gaming editor and Here & Now producer
Crime Boss: Rockay City
Crime Boss: Rockay City feels like a joke that I'm not in on. Reluctant, flat performances from A-listers like Michaels Madsen and Rooker, Dannys Glover and Trejo, Chuck Norris, Kim Bassinger and Vanilla Ice dress shoddy, sometimes offensive dialogue in an unflattering, low-effort sheen that lacks even the most basic charm that average B-movies could fall back on. Even if it provided a fun gameplay loop in its main mode, this game would be a difficult sell.
Its single-player roguelike mode sees the player assume the role of Michael Madsen's character, Travis Baker, as he seeks to rule the criminal underworld of Rockay City, a fictionalized version of Miami. Players will go on various missions ranging from hits, fighting rival gangs over turf, stealing valuables and contraband from rival gangs, and robbing strip malls. While there are technically more missions available, most of them bleed together, creating a pervasive sameyness that never really let up after my dozen-or-so hours with the game.
Crime Boss' gameplay and general structure aren't inherently bad, they're just lacking the same teeth players can expect from other crime games. It tries to lean on its star-studded cast to deliver it from mediocrity. Instead, they drag it down. With its camera regularly planted on cleavage, and profane writing that would've been in poor taste even a decade ago, its cast is admittedly not given much to work with. Unfortunately, there's no lemonade to be made with these lemons. The most notable offender among multiple phoned-in performances comes from Chuck Norris, whose lines actually sound like they were delivered through a cell phone.
While it's clear that the game was made with some specific constraints, presumably brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it's odd to hear household names disinterestedly rattle off lines that all sound like first takes. It begs the question: if 505 could afford Danny Trejo, couldn't the publisher also afford to revise its script or possibly even get a second take?
-Charlie Wacholz, Contributor
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
In its Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC, developer Motion Twin proves yet again that it's in a league of its own when it comes to crossovers. It's especially fitting since Castlevania laid the foundation for Dead Cells' fast-paced action all the way back in 1986. But Konami hasn't released a new game in the series for nearly 10 years.
Imitators and devotees have rushed to fill the void, resulting in some of the most iconic games of the last decade, but in partnering with Konami, Motion Twin went the extra mile by allowing players to revisit Dracula's castle. Foot-tapping remixes of iconic tracks, nostalgic implementations of the series' iconography and weapons, pulse-pounding recreations of memorable boss fights and charming nods to long-running jokes within the fandom meld perfectly into Dead Cells' gripping gameplay loop and cheeky sense of humor.
Dead Cells is flow-state gaming at its finest; with options to suit nearly every playstyle. It's easy to sink into gaming nirvana as you careen through its procedurally-generated levels, decimating everything on your way to the next objective. With Castlevania's iconic aesthetic to back it up, Dead Cells' gameplay climbs to an even higher bar of quality and fun. Adding two additional levels, a couple of new boss fights, and a smattering of additional features, this DLC melds seamlessly into a typical run at the game.
Those new enemies, secrets and boss fights make for some surprises that are sure to delight. Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania offers more than just a cheap nostalgia trip. At $10, players will get more than their money's worth in this expansion that's a must-play for Castlevania fans and anyone looking for an enthralling challenge.
-Charlie Wacholz, Contributor
Destiny 2: Lightfall
When I preordered Lightfall last year and got access to the exotic auto rifle Quicksilver Storm, I don't think I swapped to another weapon the entire Season of Plunder. It was a fun gun with an exciting perk that made your next shot a homing missile after landing multiple hits. I was sure that Lightfall would follow suit, bringing in tow a dope subclass and plenty of fun to-do's.
Unfortunately, exploring the new human city of Neomuna on Neptune was a stark reminder of how short Destiny 2's latest DLC has fallen. Leading up to the release of Lightfall, Bungie shared plenty of updates about the new Strand subclass, what to expect from Neomuna, and the big baddies lurking in the Black Fleet.
In the DLC's trailer, the Pyramid-shaped ships flanking the cosmos gave the impression that Bungie would be following up the success of past DLC The Witch Queen with even more panache. Instead, we get introduced to a flat villain, "The Witness", whose mysterious backstory does little to bolster the weak narrative arc of the campaign.
Throughout the main story, we encounter new and familiar faces, including a rendition of Osiris that relies too heavily on bravado and constant pointing to "The Veil" (a phenomenon we learn little about throughout the DLC but somehow poses a significant threat).
We also meet the chrome-clad Cloud Striders of Neomuna who teach us how to effectively wield Strand, the green threads that you can wield like Spider-Man to swing your way through Neptunian city. Only, the traversal is lackluster and pales in comparison to what was promised in previous cinematics. The cinematic trailers for Lightfall gave the impression that Strand would be limitless, but it actually triggers a cooldown that drastically slows the experience.
Lightfall is a reminder that Destiny 2 is a live service game — there's a roadmap the game must follow, regardless of whether or not DLC is necessary. And sadly, Lightfall doesn't feel essential in the way that predecessors like Forsaken and The Witch Queen did.
-Jamal Michel, Life Kit/It's Been a Minute Intern
Editor's Note: Technically Lightfall came out the last day of February, but we're including it on this list since the community's reception and critical discourse really emerged in March. -JM
Diablo IV Beta
On November 2nd, 2018, excitable fans crowded into a convention auditorium at BlizzCon, awaiting a rumored announcement of Diablo IV, the next installment in Blizzard's hugely successful PC and console video game franchise. Instead, the day's presenters took the stage to proudly unveil a Diablo-themed game that was mobile-only (and that would later debut in 2022 as the controversial Diablo Immortal). They were subsequently booed.
Nearly five years later, this month's beta preview of Diablo IV feels like a long apology letter to previously-disappointed fans.
The game immediately transports you to the world of Sanctuary, where the demon Lilith and other evil creatures have escaped their underworld kingdom and are wreaking havoc on the land. Gone are the colorful, fairy-tale graphics of Diablo 3: Instead, Blizzard has crafted a brutal land of ice and misery. Combat remains much the same, but a vast amount of content hides in each area, making the game feel even bigger than previous installments. Even after over ten hours of solo gameplay during the first beta weekend, I felt I had barely scratched the surface of Sanctuary.
Cooperative gameplay in Diablo IV turned out to be just as rewarding as playing alone. I enlisted two of my siblings to create a merry party of misfits the second weekend of the beta, plundering dungeons and solving side-quests both hard and easy. Enemy difficulty is scaled by player experience and multiplies when players attack as a group, so our last battle took over twenty minutes of slashing, casting, smashing, and reviving to defeat the boss. When the dust settled and we had collected our loot, we had only one question: What's next?
-Alex Curley, Associate Producer, Programming
Hot Wheels Rift Rally
Rift Rally promised to transform my living room into a giant playground for classic Hot Wheels, and I was sold. As the Chameleon RC car charged, I excitedly outlined daring courses around my apartment to show off to my friends. That excitement slowly faded as, one by one, each of my course ideas were proven too ambitious.
Velan Studios built on a title they produced for Nintendo, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, for this new augmented reality (AR) racing game. Rift Rally uses AR to create a virtual track you can see through a connected app as you physically steer through four "Rift Gates" placed throughout your home. During a race, the RC car moves throughout your course while a screen on an app displays a digital overlay of your vehicle, other racers, and obstacles.
But the AR is easily displaced. Frequently, my tracks would lead me to ram directly into a bookshelf, instead of cruising by. This was especially frustrating when the game directed me to destroy drones that I couldn't reach because AR had placed them inside my couch.
Rift Rally is at its best when you're not racing and can laugh off course instability. My favorite challenges involved using my Mach Speeder to pick up and deliver dumplings to a dragon, or trying to find matching snowman 'suspects' in a lineup on the track.
The AR also adds visual flair to simple driving. In Stunt Mode, you can range freely about your home, doing donuts and kickflips. These stunts are sure to make anyone looking at the physical car on your floor laugh, as it calmly cruises forward while the on-screen car gracefully pirouettes.
The Chameleon (virtually) transforms into 22 classic Hot Wheels cars, and unlocking them is the main motivation to progress. Each Hot Wheel has different power-ups and stats, which you're able to boost by spending in-game credits. The Chameleon even noticeably handles differently depending on which virtual car you've set it to.
I loved the novelty of seeing my living room through the eyes of the game's more creative challenges, but the unstable courses tried my patience and I can't recommend Rift Rally to anyone with young children, even though it looks like the ideal toy.
-Vanessa McGinnis, Digital Campaign Associate
Storyteller
Storyteller is brief, cute, and elegant. You could easily finish it in under two hours. But I couldn't get it out of my head.
Perhaps that's because I have fond memories of playing its pixelated prototype years ago. The game looks much, much nicer now, but the format is much the same: Storyteller presents you with empty comic panels, a cast (clearly inspired by literary figures), and a range of situations (a wedding, a death, a resurrection, etc). By arranging characters and scenes, you'll build stories to match little prompts. You might be charged with putting a Duke behind bars, for example, so you'll have to stage a crime and summon an detective to point the finger.
While these narrative puzzles get increasingly complex, Storyteller can feel more like a toy than a deeply-featured game. It swerves from affairs to poisonings to abductions with cartoons so cheery they somehow keep things light-hearted. It can even feel a little classy, with parodies of literature and fairy tales that'll make you chuckle — but, like, the intellectual kind of chuckle.
It's almost more interesting to play the game wrong. To see what bizarre outcomes emerge when you combine characters and situations together with wild abandon. Part of me wanted a more complex simulation that could really prioritize player freedom over narrow solutions. But at the end of a stressful day, I enjoyed what Storyteller had to give: something clever and surprisingly soothing, despite all the murder.
-James Mastromarino, NPR gaming editor and Here & Now producer
Tchia
Tchia offers a beautiful, cartoony vision of New Caledonia, from developers who call the archipelago home. Clearly influenced by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, Tchia provides a vast set of islands to explore.
Tchia really shines in just how many ways it gives you to move around. As Tchia, the titular character, you can climb almost every surface, use your glider to sail across valleys, slide down mountainsides, and most notably, "soul-jump" — a mechanic reminiscent of Cappy's ability from Super Mario Odyssey — to control any animal or small object you come across.
I particularly enjoyed the ability to sway back and forth on a palm tree before using the momentum to launch Tchia forward in the air. On their own they're simple mechanics, but together they make traversing the colorful and vibrant world a true joy.
Don't let Tchia's bright visuals and bouncy island aesthetic fool you though; the game takes you through a surprisingly dark story following Tchia's journey to free her father from captivity. There's a fair amount of violence along the way (complete with a villain who eats babies!).
I could feel a bit overwhelmed with everything there was to see and do in Tchia. At the start of the game, you're introduced to a host of minigames, but keeping track of all of the abilities and activities at my disposal felt burdensome at times.
Despite these small challenges, Tchia's climbing, gliding, and soul-jumping kept me hooked all the way through the end — and even had me coming back to find a few more hidden treasure chests after the credits rolled. If you're looking for a quick adventure with a unique and detailed setting, Tchia is worth exploring.
-Graham Rebhun, Software Engineer, Publishing
Terra Nil
Let's face it: times are tough. There's a war happening in Europe, layoffs have hit close to home, and climate change looms over our daily lives. With so many destructive forces dominating the news recently, I've found myself wishing for more constructive video games, where I could leave something behind that wasn't fought over or created through conflict. Enter Terra Nil, the new environmental strategy game from developer Free Lives.
Granted, Terra Nil starts in a bleak place. A terrible disaster has left the planet barren, and it's your job to restore the flora and fauna of four different regions, then depart. Unlike other city-builders, your goal is not to make life better for humans, but to leave the world behind after making it thrive on its own.
Luckily, creation is an absolute pleasure: you begin by generating power for soil-cleansing machines. Next, you sow vegetation, but you'll have to obey some rules as you do so. Grass can be placed directly on cleansed soil, for example, but forests can only be placed in areas where the player has triggered a wildfire. Once you've fulfilled the vegetation requirements (as well as a few other small tasks), the last step is to recycle all the buildings you've created and load them into your ship, leaving behind a beautiful, lush paradise.
Players new to city-building strategy games will be most at home in Terra Nil, but the currency-based building will offer more experienced players a moderate challenge. The recycling system at the end of each level is also no joke: guiding the drones to the buildings to be broken down and recycled often means you will have to place more buildings to completely clear the region. With only four maps to play on, beating the main campaign only took me about five hours. I was also disappointed to discover that I sometimes had to bore into my beautiful creation in order to finish recycling the buildings I'd placed.
With its vibrant graphics and constructive gameplay, Terra Nil is a breath of fresh air. Regenerating badlands ravaged by nuclear fallout is a unique pleasure, and the puzzle-solving required offers a unique challenge. The main campaign is quite short, but maybe that's the secret charm of Terra Nil: wiping clean the work of the past to play again, and hopefully create something even more beautiful.
-Alex Curley, Associate Producer, Programming
Resident Evil Village VR
Resident Evil Village sold me with a flashlight.
Plopped (well, thrown out of a wrecked police van) onto the snow-covered outskirts of some unnamed Euro-slum, I reached for the light. Normally in a game like RE Village, that light would emit from my first-person perspective, as if the flashlight was super glued to my head; A good way to narrow my field of view and raise my already escalating heart rate but hardly innovative.
However, thanks to a recent patch, I played Village on Playstation's new VR headset and using its motion controls, I "held" the flashlight in my hand, sweeping it across creepy empty alleyways as naturally as I would an actual torch. I raised it up over my head to peer into some disgusting goop-filled cauldron. I crouched down by a bed, arching the light left and right in search of supplies.
"Immersion" is a buzzword developers love to toss out to describe their vast, complicated video game worlds, but I'm telling you, using a flashlight in the opening moment's of Village was one of the most immersive experiences I've had in a video game.
So how's the rest of it? If you've played RE Village before, you'll know and love this amusement park-like shooter featuring monster-of-the-week scares that take you from a Baroque-styled castle to a swamp-submerged windmill.
Village is hardly Resident Evil's scariest entry but its shooter-heavy gameplay lends itself well to VR. Pulling a pistol from your jacket or a rifle from behind your back is smooth and responsive even in the most tense of fights. Ratcheting the shotgun feels supremely cool every single time (even though it probably looks very silly to anyone else sitting in your living room).
While there's some VR jank that rears its head in cutscenes, my only complaint with this VR patch is the lack of physical objects to interact with. Why can't I flush that creepy doll down the toilet? Why can't I throw rotting fruit at the ghoul lurching at me? I understand why Capcom didn't spend the time adding physics to everything, but RE Village would be an even better game if I could slap a vampire in the face with the arm of one of their buddies that I just shot off a moment earlier.
-James Delahoussaye, TED Radio Hour Producer
The Light Brigade
The Light Brigade is a challenging roguelike shooter set in a moody fantasy realm that's deeply informed by the grim aesthetic of World War 2. As a soldier of The Light Brigade you must fight your way through procedurally generated levels using your WW2-era guns and holy magic. You'll recover the souls of your enemies and fallen comrades as you sneak, loot, and shoot while trying not to alert too many enemies at once.
While the VR gunplay is the real standout, you can also use your magic to locate enemies on the map, attack multiple foes at once, or shield yourself. At the end of most levels you can "purify" the souls which will unlock permanent upgrades. And along the way, you'll find temporary improvements for your character and weapons for the duration of your run by looting or purchasing tarot cards, gun charms, and gun attachments.
My favorite moments of the game were finding cover in intense gun battles, then strategizing my next move. Your character does not run very fast so you'll learn to rely on teleporting to get from cover to cover as quickly as possible. The enemy AI can be really challenging: you will die a lot in this game, but, mercifully, you have one extra life for each run, which gives you the chance to return to your body and retrieve the souls you had collected.
The premise is simple - the gameplay is compelling, and the detail in the world, items, and lore show a level of care that is somewhat rare in stand-alone VR titles. I loved the character design and the 3D depth of the tarot cards - minor touches that really made the game feel special.
However, the Quest version I played did lack some polish. The loading screens in between each room and level killed the flow for me. But the overall presentation of the game and the core gameplay loop kept me engaged while I tried to unlock each class variety to try different tactics. With some minor quality of life improvements, The Light Brigade could be one of my favorite VR titles so far in 2023.
-Will Mitchell, Streaming Media Manager
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-04-18T05:46:40+00:00 | wboi.org | https://www.wboi.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-03-31/npr-staff-review-the-biggest-games-of-march-and-more |
CT Boston/Norton MA Zone Forecast for Thursday, November 10, 2022
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821 FPUS51 KBOX 110901
ZFPBOX
Zone Forecast Product for Southern New England
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
400 AM EST Fri Nov 11 2022
CTZ002-112100-
Hartford CT-
Including the cities of Hartford and Windsor Locks
400 AM EST Fri Nov 11 2022
.TODAY...Cloudy. A slight chance of showers this morning, then
showers this afternoon. Patchy fog this afternoon. Highs in the
upper 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph this
afternoon. Chance of rain 90 percent.
.TONIGHT...Showers with a chance of thunderstorms. Patchy fog.
Some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds and heavy rainfall.
Locally heavy rainfall possible in the evening. Not as cool and
humid. Near steady temperature in the mid 60s. South winds 15 to
20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
.SATURDAY...Mostly cloudy with showers with a chance of
thunderstorms in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Patchy fog in the morning. Some thunderstorms may produce gusty
winds and heavy rainfall in the morning. Highs around 70.
Temperature falling into the mid 60s in the afternoon. Southwest
winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph, becoming west 10 to
15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain
80 percent.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy. Much cooler. Less humid with
lows in the lower 40s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to
20 mph in the evening.
.SUNDAY...Partly sunny. Much cooler with highs in the lower 50s.
Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
.SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the
upper 20s. Highs in the mid 40s.
.TUESDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 40s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow. Lows in the
lower 30s. Chance of snow 50 percent.
.WEDNESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of rain and snow. Highs
in the mid 40s. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of
rain. Lows in the lower 30s.
.THURSDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 40s.
$$
CTZ003-112100-
Tolland CT-
Including the cities of Union and Vernon
400 AM EST Fri Nov 11 2022
.TODAY...Cloudy. Patchy fog. Showers this afternoon. Highs in the
upper 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
Chance of rain 80 percent.
.TONIGHT...Showers with a chance of thunderstorms. Patchy fog.
Some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds and heavy rainfall.
Locally heavy rainfall possible in the evening. Not as cool with
lows in the lower 60s. South winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to
40 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
.SATURDAY...Cloudy with showers likely with a chance of
thunderstorms in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Patchy fog in the morning. Some thunderstorms may produce gusty
winds and heavy rainfall in the morning. Highs around 70.
Temperature falling into the lower 60s in the afternoon.
Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph, becoming
west 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon.
Chance of rain 70 percent.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Much cooler. Less humid with
lows in the lower 40s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to
20 mph in the evening.
.SUNDAY...Partly sunny. Much cooler with highs in the lower 50s.
Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph in the afternoon.
.SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s.
Highs in the mid 40s.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 20s.
.TUESDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 40s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow.
Lows around 30.
.WEDNESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of rain and snow. Highs
in the mid 40s. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. Lows in
the lower 30s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
.THURSDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 40s.
$$
CTZ004-112100-
Windham CT-
Including the cities of Putnam and Willimantic
400 AM EST Fri Nov 11 2022
.TODAY...Cloudy. Patchy fog this morning. Showers likely this
afternoon. Highs around 70. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to
20 mph this afternoon. Chance of rain 70 percent.
.TONIGHT...Showers with a chance of thunderstorms. Patchy fog.
Some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds and heavy rainfall.
Not as cool. Near steady temperature in the mid 60s. South winds
10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 35 mph, increasing to around 20 mph
with gusts up to 45 mph after midnight. Chance of rain near
100 percent.
.SATURDAY...Cloudy with showers with a chance of thunderstorms in
the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Patchy fog in
the morning. Some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds and heavy
rainfall in the morning. Breezy with highs in the lower 70s.
Temperature falling into the mid 60s in the afternoon. Southwest
winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph, becoming west 10 to
15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain
80 percent.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Much cooler. Less humid with
lows in the lower 40s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to
20 mph in the evening.
.SUNDAY...Partly sunny. Much cooler with highs in the lower 50s.
Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
.SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s.
Highs in the mid 40s.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 20s.
.TUESDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 40s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow.
Lows in the lower 30s.
.WEDNESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of rain and snow. Highs
in the upper 40s. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. Lows in
the lower 30s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
.THURSDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 40s.
$$
For the latest updates...please visit our webpage at
You can follow us on Facebook at
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@NWSBoston
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Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | 2022-11-11T10:27:21+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/CT-Boston-Norton-MA-Zone-Forecast-17576649.php |
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BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of followers of an influential Shiite cleric stormed Iraq’s government palace on Monday shortly after he announced he was withdrawing from politics, further deepening an unprecedented political crisis.
Muqtada al-Sadr’s followers stormed the Republican Palace, a key meeting place for Iraqi heads of state and foreign dignitaries, for the first time. On July 30, they stormed the parliament building to deter al-Sadr’s rivals from forming a government.
Iraq’s military swiftly announced a city-wide curfew for civilians and vehicles on Monday to quell rising tensions and the possibility of clashes.
Al-Sadr’s protesters filled lavish waiting rooms in the palace and chanted slogans in support of the cleric.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Hundreds of followers of an influential Shiite cleric scaled the cement barriers leading to Iraq's government palace after he announced his resignation from politics on Monday, spurring fears of more volatility amid an unprecedented political crisis.
Shortly after Muqtada al-Sadr announced his “final” retirement from politics, hundreds of his followers rushed to the government palace, the seat of the caretaker government. It was the first time his followers have attempted to breach the palace since thousands of them stormed Iraq's parliament to prevent al-Sadr's rivals from forming a government.
The protesters used ropes to pull down cement barriers leading to the palace gates.
Iraq's military called on the protesters to withdraw immediately from the Green Zone and to practice self-restraint “to prevent clashes or the spilling of Iraqi blood,” according to a statement.
“The security forces affirm their responsibility to protect government institutions, international missions, public and private properties," the statement said.
In a tweet, the cleric said he was withdrawing from politics and ordered the closure of his party offices. It is not the first time al-Sadr has announced his retirement from politics, but many fear it could spur more escalation.
Al-Sadr’s statement on Monday was a reaction to the retirement of Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Kadhim al-Haeri, who counts many of al-Sadr’s supporters as followers. The previous day, al-Haeri announced he would be stepping down as a religious authority and called on his followers to support Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not the Shiite spiritual center in Iraq's holy city of Najaf.
The move was a blow to al-Sadr. In his statement he said al-Haeri's stepping down “was not out fo his own volition.”
Al-Sadr won the largest share of seats in the October elections but failed to form a majority government, leading to what has become one of the worst political crises in Iraq in recent years.
His bloc later resigned from parliament and his supporters last month stormed the parliament building in Baghdad. Al-Sadr has demanded that parliament be dissolved and early elections held. | 2022-08-29T12:27:51+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/In-plot-twist-Iraqi-Shiite-cleric-announces-17404485.php |
WASHINGTON — (AP) — Anonymous comments with racist, sexist and abusive messages that were posted for years on a jobs-related website for economists originated from numerous leading U.S. universities, according to research released Thursday.
Some economists have long condemned the website, Economics Job Market Rumors, for its toxic content. The site, known by its acronym EJMR, is run by an anonymous individual and is not connected to a university or other institution. That fact had fed speculation that those who posted hateful messages on it were mostly online cranks who might not be economists.
Yet the new research indicates that users of the website include individuals at top-tier colleges and universities, including Harvard, Stanford and the University of Chicago, and many others.
“Our analysis reveals that the users who post on EJMR are predominantly economists, including those working in the upper echelons of academia, government, and the private sector,” the paper concluded. It was written by Florian Ederer, a management professor at Boston University, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, a finance professor at the Yale School of Management, and Kyle Jensen, an associate dean at Yale.
A spokeswoman for Harvard declined to comment. Stanford and the University of Chicago did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“It’s not just a few bad apples,” Ederer said in a presentation Thursday at a conference sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “It’s very, very widespread. And the toxicity is widespread.”
The revelations have provoked debate on social media among economists about privacy, free speech and online abuse. Some economists, particularly women who have been attacked on the site, say they hope the revelations lead colleges and universities to investigate the postings. Others have expressed concern that the research could lead to a "witch hunt" among those who posted on the site.
Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Goldsmith-Pinkham sought to dispel those concerns, saying the group does not plan on “releasing anything identifying” individuals.
Nearly 2,000 people watched a livestream of the paper's presentation Thursday on YouTube. That was far more than the 100 or so who watched other NBER presentations the same day, suggesting widespread interest in the topic among academic economists.
The bigoted content on the website makes women and nonwhite economists often feel unwelcome in a profession that is already struggling to diversify, Goldsmith-Pinkham said. Black Americans, for example, are more likely to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics or other social sciences than in economics.
“The idea that in an anonymous space, people behave in this way, it reflects pretty poorly on the profession,” Goldmsith-Pinkham said.
The researchers used publicly available data to determine the internet addresses for about two-thirds of the more than 7 million posts that have been made on the site since 2010. They classified about 10% of those posts as “toxic" because of their racist or sexist content. These posts included the use of racial slurs and assertions that women have smaller brains than men.
About 11% of the postings on EJMR, the researchers found, originated from among several hundred universities, including those they classified as the top 25 research universities. On average, 13% of the posts from universities were considered toxic.
“Things were WAY better when women were focused on rearing children and feeding their husbands,” said one post highlighted by the researchers.
“The biggest enemies of America are: Blks,” read another.
The site has drawn criticism since at least 2017, when Alice Wu, an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote a paper highlighting the sexist nature of many of the postings on the site.
In response to her paper, Olivier Blanchard, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and emeritus economics professor at MIT, called the website a "cesspool." Blanchard added that the site had "become a breeding ground for personal attacks of an abusive kind."
Anya Samek, an economics professor who was first attacked on the site in 2009, said the site persists because there has been no way to hold it accountable. She said she hopes the universities that are being identified as sources of some of the posts will take steps to prevent future abuse.
“I would like to see universities take some action to make sure there’s no hate speech online coming from their own offices," Samek said.
Samek was a target of false accusations on the EJMR website after she was hired in 2009 by the University of Chicago's top-tier economics department. She had earned her Ph.D. from Purdue University, which she said some posters on EJMR might not have considered prestigious enough.
She was subject to threats on the site in 2022, after she presented at an economics conference.
“It was a truly horrible experience,” she said.
Samek has since started a petition urging the American Economic Association to consider legal action against threatening and defamatory posts.
The economic association has started its own job board to provide an alternative to EJMR, though so far it hasn't received much use.
___
AP data journalist Larry Fenn contributed to this report from New York.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2023-07-21T13:30:28+00:00 | whio.com | https://www.whio.com/news/economics-website-is/HI6WHMYF67FT6JV5EGYWAZW53U/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will send 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border starting next week, ahead of an expected migrant surge following the end of coronavirus pandemic-era restrictions.
Military personnel will do data entry, warehouse support and other administrative tasks so that U.S. Customs and Border Protection can focus on fieldwork, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. The troops “will not be performing law enforcement functions or interacting with immigrants, or migrants,” Jean-Pierre said. “This will free up Border Patrol agents to perform their critical law enforcement duties.”
They will be deployed for 90 days, and will be pulled from the Army and Marine Corps, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will look to backfill with National Guard or Reserve troops during that period, Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. There are already 2,500 National Guard members at the border.
The COVID-19 restrictions have allowed U.S. officials to turn away tens of thousands of migrants crossing the southern border, but those restrictions will lift May 11, and border officials are bracing for a surge. Even amid the restrictions, the administration has seen record numbers of people crossing the border, and President Joe Biden has responded by cracking down on those who cross illegally and by creating new pathways meant to offer alternatives to a dangerous and often deadly journey.
For Biden, who announced his Democratic reelection campaign a week ago, the decision signals his administration is taking seriously an effort to tamp down the number of illegal crossings, a potent source of Republican attacks, and sends a message to potential border crossers not to attempt the journey. But it also draws potentially unwelcome comparisons to Biden’s Republican predecessor, whose policies Biden frequently criticized. Congress, meanwhile, has refused to take any substantial immigration-related actions.
Then-President Donald Trump deployed active-duty troops to the border to assist border patrol personnel in processing large migrant caravans, on top of National Guard forces that were already working in that capacity.
Jean-Pierre downplayed any similarity between Biden’s immigration management and Trump’s use of troops during his term. “DOD personnel have been supporting CBP at the border for almost two decades now,” Jean-Pierre said. “So this is a common practice.”
But some in Biden’s own party objected to the decision.
“The Biden administration’s militarization of the border is unacceptable,” said Senate Committee on Foreign Relations chair Bob Menendez, D-N.J. “There is already a humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere, and deploying military personnel only signals that migrants are a threat that require our nation’s troops to contain. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
It’s another line of defense in an effort to manage overcrowding and other possible issues that might arise as border officials move away from the COVID-19 restrictions. Last week, administration officials announced they would work to swiftly screen migrants seeking asylum at the border, quickly deport those deemed as not being qualified, and penalize people who cross illegally into the U.S. or illegally through another country on their way to the U.S. border.
They will also open centers outside the United States for people fleeing violence and poverty to apply to fly in legally and settle in the United States, Spain or Canada. The first processing centers will open in Guatemala and Colombia, with others expected to follow.
The Pentagon on Tuesday approved the request for troops by Homeland Security, which manages the border.
The deployments have a catch: As a condition for Austin’s previous approval of National Guard troops to the border through Oct. 1, Homeland Security had to agree to work with the White House and Congress to develop a plan for longer-term staffing solutions and funding shortfalls, “to maintain border security and the safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants that do not involve the continued use of DOD personnel and resources,” said Pentagon spokesman Air Force Lt. Col. Devin Robinson.
As part of the agreement, the Pentagon has requested quarterly updates from Homeland Security on how it would staff its border mission without servicemembers. It was not immediately clear if those updates have happened or if border officials will be able to meet their terms of the agreement — particularly under the strain of another expected migrant surge.
Homeland Security said it was working on it. “U.S. Customs and Border Protection is investing in technology and personnel to reduce its need for DOD support in coming years, and we continue to call on Congress to support us in this task,” the agency said in a statement.
___
Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Rebecca Santana, Lolita Baldor and Michael Balsamo contributed to this report. | 2023-05-03T12:45:48+00:00 | myfox8.com | https://myfox8.com/news/politics/ap-politics/biden-admin-asks-for-1500-troops-at-us-mexico-border/ |
(CNN) — Pebbles, the world’s oldest dog, has died at the age of 22, according to Guinness World Records.
The record-breaking toy fox terrier died of natural causes at her home in Taylors, South Carolina, on Monday, said Guinness in a news release.
The elderly pooch was five months shy of her 23rd birthday, according to the release.
Pebbles was only recognized as the world’s oldest living dog earlier this year. In April, Guinness had initially named a 21-year-old chihuahua named TobyKeith as the oldest living dog — but when Pebbles’ owners saw the news, they realized their dog was actually older and they leaped into action like a dog chasing a squirrel.
Bobby and Julie Gregory, Pebbles’ owner, submitted their pet for the record. The tiny toy fox terrier was born on March 28, 2000, according to the release.
Pebbles lived “a long and happy life,” says Guinness. She mothered 32 puppies over the course of her life.
On the Instagram account she runs dedicated to Pebbles, Julie Gregory posted information about her pet’s death, whom she called a once-in-a-lifetime companion.
The 4-pound terrier loved listening to country music and trying new foods, said Gregory in the statement. Her wardrobe was studded with dozens of adorable outfits, including a festive pumpkin hat and a pink dress, that were documented on the Instagram account.
“It was our honor to have had the blessing to have had her as a pet, and family member,” Gregory wrote. “There was never anyone who met Pebbles that didn’t love her.”
“She will be deeply missed.” | 2022-10-07T18:48:29+00:00 | wishtv.com | https://www.wishtv.com/news/national/pebbles-the-worlds-oldest-dog-has-died-at-age-22/ |
FRENCH, Annabelle, 91, Bloomington, died Saturday (July 16, 2022). Quiram Peasley Funeral Home, Atlanta.
GEHRT, Phyllis H., 94, Bloomington, died Saturday (July 16, 2022). Kibler-Brady-Ruestman Memorial Home, Bloomington.
HERRLI, Robert "Bob", 79, Fort Myers, FL and formerly of Fairbury, died Saturday (July 16, 2022). Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury.
JOBE, Timothy A., 72, Normal, died Saturday (July 16, 2022). Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home, Bloomington.
KEMP, Gerald W., 76, El Paso, died Monday (July 18, 2022). Calvert-Johnson & Froelich Memorial Home, El Paso.
MORROW, Minnie Mae, 96, Mackinaw, died Monday (July 18, 2022). Haensel-Oswald Funeral Home, Mackinaw.
SCHROEDER, John "Jack", 80, Normal, died Friday (July 15, 2022). Kibler-Brady-Ruestman Memorial Home, Bloomington.
SOBERRI, Edith Ann, 81, Minonk, formerly of Toluca, died Friday (July 15, 2022). Calvert-Johnson & Froelich Memorial Home, Toluca.
STIPP, Alma, 100, Gibson City, died Saturday (July 16, 2022). Rosenbaum Funeral Home, Gibson City.
TUCKER, Diane G., 73, Lincoln, died Sunday (July 17, 2022). Peasley Funeral Home, Lincoln.
WING, Fred W. Jr., 91, Fairbury, died Thursday (July 14, 2022). Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury. | 2022-07-18T18:11:37+00:00 | pantagraph.com | https://pantagraph.com/obituaries/funerals-pending-for-july-19/article_6f05d472-06a4-11ed-acfb-6b3daf1c360c.html |
NASCAR delays start of Grant Park 220 because of rain, names winner in rain-shortened Loop 121 race
CHICAGO - The remainder of NASCAR's Loop 121 Race was called off because of rain, and the Grant Park 220 was delayed until 5:15 p.m. on Sunday.
The Grant Park 220 will conclude at lap 75, NASCAR said, because the sun will be setting.
A repeat of Saturday's storm woes continued. NASCAR's Loop 121 race had been rescheduled for Sunday morning after bad weather made the situation unworkable on Saturday afternoon. It was eventually called of just before 1 p.m. Sunday for the same reason.
Cole Custer won the race after completing 25 laps Saturday afternoon. Sunday's concerts have been canceled due to flooding in Lower Hutchison Field.
NASCAR released a statement about the decision.
"With standing water and flooding a significant issue at the race track and throughout the city, there was no option to return to racing prior to shifting to NASCAR Cup Series race operations," NASCAR said in a statement. "Throughout the entire planning process for the Chicago Street Race, our relationship with the City of Chicago has been strong and among the most valuable assets in reaching this historic weekend. In the spirit of that partnership, returning on Monday for the completion of a NASCAR Xfinity Series event two laps short of halfway was an option we chose not to employ. Based on several unprecedented circumstances, NASCAR has made the decision to declare Cole Custer the winner of the race."
Sunday's race is 100 laps, equating 220 miles around a track full of turns set up by Grant Park, partially on DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
Drivers are expected to reach speeds of 170 mph, according to one NASCAR Cup Series driver.
It's NASCAR’s first-ever street race.
View the NASCAR Street Race course layout HERE.
For a comprehensive list of street closures and detours due to NASCAR’S Street Race, CLICK HERE. | 2023-07-03T01:26:52+00:00 | fox9.com | https://www.fox9.com/news/nascar-delays-start-of-grant-park-220-because-of-rain-names-winner-in-rain-shortened-loop-121-race |
LINDLEY, N.Y. (WETM) – On Friday, May 13th, The HeART Studio in Lindley is showing support for Ukrainians with a special art event titled “Flowers for Ukraine.”
According to the studio’s website, guests can bring a free label wine bottle, either empty or full, to the event and be taught how to paint a sunflower on the bottle for $20. 25% of the proceeds will go to aid the war effort in Ukraine.
“It provides an opportunity for people to give back and an opportunity for a night of entertainment,” said Bethany Conway, owner of The HeART Studio. “It gives them something to do and just come together as a community.”
This is not the first fundraising event the studio held in support of Ukraine. Back in April, The HeART Studio taught residents how to make ceramic Easter eggs, and each resident’s participation increased funds to aid the war effort.
“Flowers for Ukraine” begins at 6 PM on Friday, May 13th. More information on how to sign up for the event can be found here. | 2022-05-09T22:48:04+00:00 | mytwintiers.com | https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/local-news/local-art-studio-holds-special-fundraiser-for-ukraine/ |
By DAVID KOENIG (AP Airlines Writer)
Frontier Airlines and five foreign carriers have agreed to refund more than $600 million combined to travelers whose trips were canceled or significantly delayed since the start of the pandemic, federal officials said Monday.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said it also fined the same airlines more than $7 million for delaying refunds so long that they violated consumer-protection rules.
The largest U.S. airlines, which accounted for the bulk of complaints about refunds, avoided fines, and an official said no other U.S. carriers are being investigated for potential fines.
Consumers flooded the agency with thousands of complaints about their inability to get refunds when the airlines canceled huge numbers of flights after the pandemic hit the U.S. in early 2020. It was by far the leading category of complaints.
“When Americans buy a ticket on an airline, we expect to get to our destination safely, reliably and affordably, and our job at DOT is to hold airlines accountable for these expectations,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
The department said Frontier Airlines is refunding $222 million and paying a $2.2 million civil penalty.
In a consent order, the government charged that Frontier changed its definition of a significant delay to make refunds less likely, and an online system to process credits went down for a 15-day period in 2020.
Frontier spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said the Denver-based airline issued nearly $100 million in “goodwill refunds,” including to people with non-refundable tickets who canceled on their own and were not entitled to a refund under federal law.
The refunds “demonstrate Frontier’s commitment to treating our customers with fairness and flexibility,” de la Cruz said.
The Transportation Department said TAP Portugal will refund $126.5 million and pay a $1.1 million fine; Air India will pay $121.5 million in refunds and a $1.4 million penalty; Aeromexico will pay $13.6 million and a $900,000 fine; Israel’s El Al will pay $61.9 million and a $900,000 penalty; and Colombia’s Avianca will pay $76.8 million and a $750,000 fine.
“We have more enforcement actions and investigations underway and there may be more news to come by way of fines,” Buttigieg said during a call with reporters.
However, there will be no fines for other U.S. airlines because they responded “shortly after” the Transportation Department reminded them in April 2020 of their obligation to provide quick refunds, said Blane Workie, the assistant general counsel for the Transportation Department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.
“We do not have any pending cases against other U.S. carriers. Our remaining cases are against foreign air carriers,” Workie said on the same call with Buttigieg.
That did not satisfy consumer advocates, who said that the major U.S. airlines also violated rules around refunds — even if they took corrective steps more quickly.
“Frontier was a bad player in all this, and they deserve to be fined, and we’re glad they are paying the refunds they were supposed to pay, but we are very critical of how the DOT just seems to not want to go after the biggest fish, the ones causing the most problems,” said Bill McGee of the American Economic Liberties Project, a non-partisan group that opposes concentrated industrial power.
In 2020, United Airlines had the most refund-related complaints filed with DOT — more than 10,000 — although smaller Frontier had a higher rate of complaints. Air Canada, El Al and TAP Portugal were next, both over 5,000, followed by American Airlines and Frontier, both topping 4,000.
Air Canada agreed last year to pay $4.5 million to settle similar U.S. allegations of slow refunds and was given credit of $2.5 million for refunds. The Transportation Department initially sought $25.5 million in that case.
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This story has been updated to correct that five foreign airlines were fined, not four.
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We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. As of June 15, 2022, comments on DenverPost.com are powered by Viafoura, and you may need to log in again to begin commenting. Read more about our new commenting system here. If you need help or are having issues with your commenting account, please email us at memberservices@denverpost.com. | 2022-11-15T01:40:52+00:00 | denverpost.com | https://www.denverpost.com/2022/11/14/frontier-5-other-airlines-to-refund-more-than-600-million/ |
Gov. Little to answer policy questions Thursday
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Governor Little will answer policy questions from Idahoans during an hour long AARP Telephone Town Hall on Thursday, Nov. 10 starting at 12 p.m. Mountain Time.
You can join by dialing toll-free 866-767-0637 at the time of the call or register in advance to be called automatically by visiting https://vekeo.com/aarpidaho/.
The conversation will also stream live on the AARP Facebook page.
Questions may be submitted ahead of time via email at aarpid@aarp.org. | 2022-11-09T18:52:19+00:00 | localnews8.com | https://localnews8.com/news/idaho/2022/11/09/gov-little-to-answer-policy-questions-thursday/ |
TOKYO (AP) — A tropical storm that dumped heavy rain as it cut across Japan moved into the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday after killing two and injuring more than 100, paralyzing traffic and leaving thousands of homes without power.
New damage was reported in southern Japan, where Typhoon Nanmadol hit over the weekend before weakening as it moved north.
On Tanegashima island, south of Kyushu island, a wall was damaged at a Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency’s space center, the Economy and Industry Ministry said. The extent of damage to the building used for rocket assembly was being assessed.
Two deaths were reported in Miyazaki prefecture on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Monday, when the storm was more powerful, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. One was a man was found in a car sunk in a flooded farm in Miyakonojo town, and another was found underneath a landslide in Mimata.
One person was missing in the western prefecture of Hiroshima, and 115 others were injured across western Japan, the agency said. Most of injuries were minor, with people falling down in the rainstorm, hit by shards of broken windows or flying objects.
More than 130,000 homes, most of them in the Kyushu region, were still without power Tuesday morning, according to the Economy and Industry Ministry. Many convenience stores were at one point closed and some distribution of supplies has been delayed.
Most transportation returned to normal on Tuesday when commuters returned to work after a three-day weekend. Bullet trains and most ground transportation resumed operation, but dozens of flights were grounded in northeastern Japan.
The tropical storm has headed out to the Pacific Ocean off northern Japanese coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Tuesday. | 2022-09-20T02:59:59+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/storm-damages-space-center-in-japan-130k-still-lack-power/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
First minister of Scotland resigns By Willem Marx Published February 15, 2023 at 2:01 PM PST Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 3:14 After eight years, Nicola Sturgeon has unexpectedly resigned as the first minister of Scotland. Her shock departure could mark a new chapter in the Scottish fight for independence. Copyright 2023 NPR | 2023-02-15T22:21:42+00:00 | kvpr.org | https://www.kvpr.org/2023-02-15/first-minister-of-scotland-resigns |
More restaurants are trying monthly subscriptions
(AP) - Consumers are willing to pay monthly subscription fees for streaming services, pet food and even toilet paper. And now some restaurants are betting they’ll do the same for their favorite meals.
Large chains like Panera and P.F. Chang’s as well as neighborhood hangouts are increasingly experimenting with the subscription model as a way to ensure steady revenue and customer visits. Some offer unlimited drinks or free delivery for a monthly fee; others will bring out your favorite appetizer each time you visit.
They’re following a trend: The average American juggled 6.7 subscriptions in 2022, up from 4.2 in 2019, according to Rocket Money, a personal finance app.
“This is just another way for customers to provide a level of support and joy and love for our offerings,” said Matt Baker, the chef at Gravitas, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Washington.
For $130 per month, Gravitas Supper Club subscribers get a three-course takeout meal for two. Baker said Gravitas shifted to takeout during the pandemic but saw demand fizzle once its dining room reopened. The Supper Club — which serves about 60 diners per month — keeps that revenue flowing.
The upscale Chinese chain P.F. Chang’s also saw an opportunity to increase to-go orders with its subscription plan, which launched in September. For $6.99 per month, members get free delivery, among other perks.
Other restaurants are experimenting with memberships, which let diners pre-pay toward their visits.
El Lopo, a San Francisco bar, has 26 members in its Take-Care-Of-Me Club. They pay either $89 per month for $100 in dining credits or $175 per month for $200 in credits. When members come in, El Lopo starts bringing out their favorite dishes. Each visit, they can gift a free drink to anyone in the bar.
El Lopo owner Daniel Azarkman started the club in March 2021 to encourage patrons to return as the pandemic eased. Now, he’s hearing from restaurants all over the country who are interested in starting similar programs.
“What it really achieves is getting them in more often,” he said.
Rick Camac, executive director of Industry Relations at the Institute of Culinary Education, said he expects many more restaurants to offer subscriptions in the coming years. Consumers are accustomed to them, he said, and the regular monthly income helps restaurants manage their cash flow.
But not all subscription programs have had success. In 2021, On the Border Mexican Grill introduced its Queso Club, which offered free cheese dip for a year for $1. The program stopped taking new subscribers a year later.
Edithann Ramey, On the Border’s chief marketing officer, said more than 150,000 people signed up for the Queso Club, and members visited seven times more often than the average guest. But the Dallas-based chain wasn’t making enough to cover the cost of the dip.
On the Border is now retooling the program and expects to reintroduce it later this year. It may charge more or move to a monthly model, Ramey said, but the subscription element will remain.
“It’s becoming kind of a hot trend and we want to stay as a leading brand,” Ramey said.
Taco Bell is also tinkering with its $10 Taco Lover’s Pass, which lets subscribers get a taco every day for a month. The pass was introduced in January 2022 and again in October; it generated buzz, but the chain is trying to think of ways to make it more valuable to consumers, said Dane Matthews, Taco Bell’s Chief Digital Officer. A subscription could promise faster service, for example, or unlock unique menu items.
Other restaurants have dropped subscriptions, saying they have their hands full just running the kitchen.
In late 2020, SheWolf, an upscale Italian restaurant in Detroit, started sending subscribers a box of pasta, sauces and other treats for $80 per month. But when its dining room fully reopened six months later, it was too much work to put together hundreds of boxes.
Still, SheWolf is keeping one foot in the subscription space. Dan Reinisch, the restaurant’s beverage director, sends Italian wines to about 80 subscribers who pay $60 or more each month.
Other businesses have had better luck. St. Louis-based Panera had nearly 40 million members in its loyalty program in early 2020, but it wanted to convince them to drop in more often. So it launched a subscription program that offered unlimited coffee and tea for $8.99 per month. Customers started coming in several times a week, and about one-third of the time they bought food.
Last year, Panera expanded the subscription. Now, members can pay $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year for unlimited hot and cold drinks. Annual subscribers also get free delivery.
Eduardo Luz, Panera’s chief brand officer, won’t share exact numbers but he said members now make up 25% of the chain’s transactions.
“It’s a huge traffic driver,” Luz said.
The idea quickly spread overseas. Pret A Manger, a sandwich chain owned by the same private company as Panera, launched its own coffee subscription in the U.K. in 2020. As of November, it was being used 1.2 million times per week. Pret also offers subscriptions in France and the U.S.
Chris Hosford, a communications consultant in southern California, joined Panera’s subscription plan a year ago. He passes four or five Paneras on his regular routes and often stops to grab a coffee and a bite to eat.
“It’s not a huge amount of savings for me — probably $5-10 in the average month,” Hosford said. “But I’m good with that.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2023-02-21T16:27:39+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/2023/02/21/more-restaurants-are-trying-monthly-subscriptions/ |
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— It was a scary scene in downtown New Orleans after police say a streetcar collided with a car.
The crash happened around the intersection of Claiborne Avenue and Canal Street. Those at the scene told WGNO that the car was pushed about 20 feet away during the collision.
While other details of how the crash happened were not immediately available, it was confirmed that no one was hurt in the incident.
This is a developing story with updates to come as more information becomes available. Check back to WGNO.com for the latest. | 2022-06-03T23:22:28+00:00 | cbs42.com | https://www.cbs42.com/regional/louisiana-news/streetcar-collides-with-car-in-downtown-new-orleans/ |
JACKSON, Robert E. "Bob"
Of Springfield, died on August 6, 2022. A visitation will be held on August 11, 2022, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Jackson Lytle & Lewis Life Celebration Center, Springfield, OH.
View the obituary on Legacy.com
Funeral Home Information
Jackson, Lytle & Lewis Life Celebration Center
2425 North Limestone St. | 2022-08-14T06:10:17+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/obituaries/jackson-robert/B4BSVDRDKFH5RCDI552WS4EJUU/ |
How to Watch College Softball World Series Streaming Live - Thursday, June 8
As a fan of college softball, we're guessing that you want to see as many games as possible. Fortunately, we can help. For information on how to watch or live stream the two NCAA softball games that are set to air on Fubo on June 8, keep scrolling.
Watch even more College Softball games with ESPN+!
How to Watch More Sports Today
College Softball Games Streaming Live Today
Watch Florida State vs Oklahoma Softball
- Game Time: 7:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Florida State vs Oklahoma Softball
- Game Time: 7:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Make sure you're following along with all the College Softball action all season long on Fubo and ESPN+!
Every team's path to the Women's College World Series begins with the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, May 14 at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN2. Tournament play kicks off the next weekend with Regionals action from May 18-21, followed by Super Regionals from May 25-28, and culminates with the Women's College World Series from June 1-9, taking place at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-06-08T13:53:05+00:00 | waff.com | https://www.waff.com/sports/betting/2023/06/08/college-softball-wcws-live-stream/ |
Inflation hovers over shoppers heading into Black Friday
NEW YORK (AP) — Black Friday marks a return to familiar holiday shopping patterns, but inflation is weighing on consumers.
Elevated prices for food, rent, gasoline and other household costs have taken a toll on shoppers. As a result, many are reluctant to spend unless there is a big sale and are being more selective with what they will buy — in many cases, trading down to cheaper stuff and less expensive stores.
Shoppers are also dipping more into their savings, turning increasingly to “buy now, pay later” services like Afterpay that allow users to pay for items in installments, as well as running up their credit cards at a time when the Federal Reserve is hiking rates to cool the U.S. economy.
Such financial hardships could help drive shoppers to look for bargains.
Isela Dalencia, who was shopping for household essentials like detergent at a Walmart in Secaucus, New Jersey, earlier this week, said she’s delaying buying holiday gifts until Cyber Monday — the Monday after Thanksgiving — when online sales rev up. Then, she will wait again until the week before Christmas to get the best deals, unlike last year when she started buying before Black Friday.
“I am shopping less,” Dalencia said, noting she will spend about $700 for holiday gifts this year, one-third less than last year.
Katie Leach, a social worker in Manhattan, was also browsing the aisles at Walmart but said she will start holiday shopping during the first week of December as usual. This time, however, she’ll be relying more on bargains, her credit card and “buy now, pay later” services to get her through the shopping season because of surging prices on food and other household expenses.
“The money is not going as far as last year,” Leach said.
This year’s trends are a contrast to a year ago when consumers were buying early out of fear of not getting what they needed amid clogs in the supply network. Stores didn’t have to discount much because they were struggling to bring in items.
But some pandemic habits are sticking around. Many retailers that closed stores on Thanksgiving Day and instead pushed discounts on their websites to thin out crowds at stores are still holding onto those strategies, despite a return to normalcy.
Major retailers including Walmart and Target are again closing their stores on Thanksgiving. And many moved away from doorbusters, the deeply marked down items offered for a limited time that drew crowds. Instead, the discounted items are available throughout the month, on Black Friday or the holiday weekend.
Against today’s economic backdrop, the National Retail Federation — the largest retail trade group — expects holiday sales growth will slow to a range of 6% to 8%, from the blistering 13.5% growth of a year ago. However, these figures, which include online spending, aren’t adjusted for inflation so real spending could even be down from a year ago.
Adobe Analytics expects online sales to be up 2.5% from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, a slowdown from last year’s 8.6% pace when shoppers were uncertain about returning to physical stores.
Analysts consider the five-day Black Friday weekend, which includes Cyber Monday, a key barometer of shoppers’ willingness to spend, particularly this year. The two-month period between Thanksgiving and Christmas represents about 20% of the retail industry’s annual sales.
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AP Personal Finance Writer Cora Lewis contributed to this report.
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Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-11-25T13:29:43+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/2022/11/25/inflation-hovers-over-shoppers-heading-into-black-friday/ |
The Washington County Sheriff's Office in Maryland is responding to a shooting with "multiple victims."
According to CNN and WRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C., the shooting occurred at a manufacturing facility in Smithsburg
Thursday afternoon. Smithsburg is about 70 miles from Baltimore.
The sheriff's office says the suspect is "no longer a threat to the community."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | 2022-06-09T20:49:36+00:00 | kjrh.com | https://www.kjrh.com/news/national/maryland-authorities-responding-to-shooting-with-multiple-victims |
LONDON (AP) — The head of the FBI and the leader of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency raised alarms Wednesday about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain.
FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirmed previous concerns in denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by China as well as the Chinese government’s efforts to stifle dissent abroad. But his speech was notable because it took place at MI5’s London headquarters and alongside the agency’s director general, Ken McCallum, in an intended show of Western solidarity.
It also showed the extent to which Wray and the FBI regard the Chinese government as not only a law enforcement and intelligence challenge, but are also attuned to the implications of Beijing's foreign policy actions.
“We consistently see that it’s the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by ‘our,’ I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere,” Wray said.
Officials described it as the first time that leaders of the FBI and MI5 had shared a stage for a joint speech.
McCallum said the Chinese government and its “covert pressure across the globe” amounts to “the most game-changing challenge we face.”
“This might feel abstract. But it’s real and it’s pressing,” McCallum said. “We need to talk about it. We need to act.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
In a nod to current tensions between China and Taiwan, Wray said any forcible takeover of Taipei by Beijing would “would represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen."
Last week, the U.S. government’s director of national intelligence said there were no indications Chinese President Xi Jinping was poised to take Taiwan by military force. Avril Haines did say Xi appeared to be planning for that potential action as part of a broader goal of reunification of Taiwan.
After the appearance with his British counterpart, Wray said that he would leave to others the question of whether an invasion of Taiwan was more or less likely after Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. “I don't have any reason to think their interest in Taiwan has abated in any fashion,” Wray said, adding that he hoped China had learned what happens “when you overplay your hand,” as he said the Russians have done in Ukraine.
The FBI director said there are signs the Chinese, perhaps drawing lessons from Russia's experience since the war, have looked for ways to “insulate their economy” against potential sanctions.
“In our world, we call that behavior a clue,” said Wray, who throughout his speech urged caution from Western companies looking to do business in or with China. He said Western investments in China could collapse in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.
“Just as in Russia, Western investments built over years could become hostages, capital stranded (and) supply chains and relationships disrupted,” he said.
President Joe Biden said in May that the U.S. would respond militarily if China invaded Taiwan, offering one of the most forceful White House statements in support of Taiwan's self-governing in decades. The White House later tried to soften the impact of the statement, saying Biden was not outlining a change in U.S. policy toward Taiwan, a self-governing island that China views as a breakaway province that should be reunified with the mainland.
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Follow Eric Tucker at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP | 2022-07-06T16:22:45+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/nation-world/us-uk-leaders-raise-fresh-alarms-about-chinese-espionage/ZUFGAN7JLRG7HARRDQXB57KJAM/ |
Supreme Court hears mail carrier’s religious tolerance case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is being asked to decide under what circumstances businesses must accommodate the needs of religious employees.
A case before the justices Tuesday involves a Christian mail carrier in rural Pennsylvania. He was told that as part of his job he’d need to start delivering Amazon.com packages on Sundays. He declined, saying his Sundays are for church and family. U.S. Postal Service officials initially tried to get substitutes for the man’s shifts, but they couldn’t always. When he didn’t show, that meant more work for others. Ultimately, the man quit and sued for religious discrimination.
The case is the latest religious confrontation the high court has been asked to referee. In recent years, the court’s 6-3 conservative majority has been particularly sensitive to the concerns of religious plaintiffs. That includes a ruling last year in which the court said a public high school football coach should be allowed to pray on the field after games. Another case the court is weighing this term involves a Christian graphic artist who wants to create wedding websites, but doesn’t want to serve gay couples.
A federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requires employers to accommodate employees’ religious practices unless doing so would be an “undue hardship” for the business. But a Supreme Court case from 1977, Trans World Airlines v. Hardison, says employers can deny religious accommodations to employees when they impose “more than a de minimis cost” on the business.
Three current justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — have said the court should reconsider the Hardison case.
The case currently before the court involves Gerald Groff, a former employee of the U.S. Postal Service in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country. For years, Groff was a fill-in mail carrier who worked on days when other mail carriers were off.
But when an Amazon.com contract with the Postal Service required carriers to start delivering packages on Sundays, Groff balked. Initially, to avoid the shifts, Groff transferred to a more rural post office not yet doing Sunday deliveries, but eventually that post office was required to do them, too.
Whenever Groff was scheduled on a Sunday, another carrier had to work or his spot went unfilled. Officials said Groff’s absences created a tense environment and contributed to morale problems. It also meant other carriers had to deliver more Sunday mail than they otherwise would.
Groff resigned in 2019 rather than wait to be fired, he said, and then filed a religious discrimination lawsuit. Groff wants the Supreme Court to overrule the Hardison case and to say that employers must show “significant difficulty or expense” if they want to reject a religious accommodation.
Biden administration lawyers representing the Postal Service, however, say Hardison shouldn’t be overruled but instead clarified to make clear it gives substantial protection for religious observance. The administration also says that — as in Groff’s case — when an employee requests a religious accommodation that negatively impacts other workers, that can be an undue hardship on the business.
The case is Groff v. DeJoy, 22-174.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2023-04-18T11:27:47+00:00 | witn.com | https://www.witn.com/2023/04/18/supreme-court-hears-mail-carriers-religious-tolerance-case/ |
Need more space for those friends and family members stopping by during their summer travels? If you don’t want them to have to bunk out on the floor or an air mattress, Walmart has a loveseat sleeper that will solve your sleep space dilemma.
The Mainstays Traditional Loveseat Sleeper is now available at Walmart.com for only $264. You save $104 off the regular price of $369.
The 28% markdown on this loveseat sleeper gets automatically applied when you add it to your cart on Walmart.com. You do not need any coupons or special codes to secure this deal.
MORE: The Best Sofa Beds
You also get free shipping with this loveseat sleeper when you order it online.
Walmart sales change frequently and often without warning. So, if you want to grab this loveseat sofa at a discounted price, you’ll want to put it in your cart quickly.
Traditionally, sleeper sofas are large and bulky. The Mainstays Traditional Loveseat Sleeper has a design that fits well in any space, whether it’s a living room, an office, or a small guest room.
A standout feature of this loveseat sleeper is its built-in twin outlets and USB ports. Plug it into a standard wall outlet; your guests can charge their laptops and smartphones while staying connected through their devices.
The loveseat’s polyester fabric makes it easy to maintain. Beneath the fabric, you’ll find the manufacturer’s special pocket coils with high-density foam for quality support and comfort.
When you or your guests are ready to call it a night or take a nap, the loveseat converts to a comfortable twin-size bed.
The sleeper unfolds easily. Just remove the seat covers and pull out the bed. The bed measures 40.6 inches long, 74 inches wide and 18.5 inches high. With a weight capacity of over 750 pounds, you know this sleeper loveseat is durable enough for whoever shows up at your door.
Buy the Mainstays Traditional Loveseat Sleeper with USB from Walmart for $265 (was $369).
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money. | 2023-07-25T15:50:28+00:00 | denver7.com | https://www.denver7.com/walmart-loveseat-sleeper-sofa-sale-july-25-2023 |
In what some viewed as an inevitable move following the altercation with Draymond Green, the Golden State Warriors traded guard Jordan Poole last week.
The 25-year-old Poole was sent to the Washington Wizards in exchange for 12-time All-Star Chris Paul on the day of the NBA Draft. Superstar Steph Curry recently wrapped up his 14th season in the NBA, and he has certainly experienced his fair share of teammates leaving.
However, seeing a young player depart seemed to serve as a reminder of the business side of sports.
"The business is crazy," Curry told The Athletic. "We all know that. If you asked us six months ago if this was something that could happen, the answer probably would’ve been no just based on where we were. Then you get to the summer and are trying to find ways to get better and put yourself in position to chase another championship."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Curry did acknowledge that although Paul is now 38, he believes that the addition of the veteran point guard should help the Warriors win.
"Every team that CP has been on gets better. That’s the most consistent thing on him and who he is and what he brings to the team. Everybody’s going to talk about the age. It’s on us to put that all together and figure out how all the pieces work."
WARRIORS ACQUIRE CHRIS PAUL IN BLOCKBUSTER DEAL: REPORTS
However, Curry did not take Poole's exit lightly.
"You hate losing JP," Curry said. "I know it’s not all the way official yet. So I don’t want to talk too much before it is. But that’s the tough part of the business, seeing a young guy come into his own [and then get traded]. It’s a great opportunity for him. It’s just you get to know someone like that, build a friendship, build a bond."
The Warriors' decision to part ways with Poole was multifaceted.
Poole and Green made headlines prior to the start of the 2022-23 regular season when video was leaked of a punch being thrown at Poole by Green at a Warriors practice.
The now-infamous altercation became a point of contention throughout the season. Green said the punch ultimately contributed to Golden State's playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Poole's large salary only seemed to further complicate his situation in Golden State. In October, the Warriors signed Poole to a massive four-year contract extension which was set to kick in next season. It was also unclear how Poole, who was once viewed as the heir apparent to Curry, fit into Golden State's future plans.
Meanwhile, Paul wants to win now, and he expressed excitement about playing with the Warriors as he continues to chase the first championship of his lengthy career.
"We’ve known each other for a very, very long time, man," Paul told ESPN's Malika Andrews about Curry.
"So I’m excited to get a chance to play alongside him, Klay [Thompson], [Andrew Wiggins], Draymond [Green], all of them. They’ve got an unbelievable organization. That team is just -- they’ve been playing together for a while, and they know what they’re doing." | 2023-06-28T12:11:27+00:00 | foxbangor.com | https://www.foxbangor.com/sports/national-sports/warriors-steph-curry-reflects-on-jordan-pooles-departure-you-hate-losing-jp/article_309761b8-5026-5852-8469-9b77e49766c7.html |
JEMEZ SPRINGS (KRQE) – The National Park Service is considering upgrades to the infrastructure at the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
The proposal for the Valle Grande District includes new parking areas, electric vehicle charging stations, improved access to the ranger station, and interpretive walking trails. The parks service is collecting public comments on the plans through Nov. 9. | 2022-10-11T21:17:45+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/infrastructure-upgrades-proposed-at-valles-caldera/ |
Bucks host open scrimmage Oct. 15
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks will host an open scrimmage on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 12 p.m. at Fiserv Forum. Free tickets are available now at www.bucks.com/scrimmage.
Doors will open to ticketed fans at 11 a.m.
Single game tickets are still available for all Bucks regular season home games, including the first home game on Oct. 22 against the Rockets.
RELATED: Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app
Single game tickets can be purchased at www.bucks.com/tickets. | 2022-10-07T17:31:17+00:00 | fox6now.com | https://www.fox6now.com/news/bucks-host-open-scrimmage-oct-15 |
It’s back and better than ever. The United Way of Fort Smith’s Fill the Bus event is happening this weekend.
Watch as Jaclyn and Jason sit down with United Way Fort Smith’s CEO Shea Foldvary to discuss the event’s return after a two-year absence.
It’s back and better than ever. The United Way of Fort Smith’s Fill the Bus event is happening this weekend.
Watch as Jaclyn and Jason sit down with United Way Fort Smith’s CEO Shea Foldvary to discuss the event’s return after a two-year absence.
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Subscribe Now | 2022-07-25T18:36:10+00:00 | nwahomepage.com | https://www.nwahomepage.com/lifestyle/good-day-nwa/united-way-ft-smith-ceo-discusses-fill-the-bus-event/ |
Delaney, Edwin "Sonny"
Age 89, of South Charleston, OH, passed away March 30, 2023. Gathering Monday 4-7 PM Locust Hills Golf Club Richards, Raff & Dunbar Memorial Home, Springfield, OH.
View the obituary on Legacy.com
Funeral Home Information
Richards, Raff & Dunbar Memorial Home - Springfield
838 East High Street | 2023-04-30T05:53:27+00:00 | springfieldnewssun.com | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/obituaries/delaney-edwin/6B44WFS2OJCGXNAF4RFBXKAJXI/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Olympic volleyball player was attacked Friday in downtown Los Angeles when a man threw a metal object at her face in an assault that fractured multiple bones in her face and left one of her eyes swollen shut, the athlete said in videos posted to social media.
Kim Glass, a silver medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had been leaving a lunch on Friday afternoon when she saw a man run up with something in his hand. He was on the other side of a car, in the street, when he threw the object — what Glass believes might have been a metal pipe or bolt — at her face.
“He just like looked at me with some pretty hateful eyes,” she said in videos posted to Instagram. “It happened so fast, he literally flung it from the street, he was not even close to me at all.”
Bystanders restrained the man — identified by police as Semeon Tesfamariam, 51 — until officers arrived to take him into custody.
Tesfamariam was booked on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon, according to Officer Drake Madison, a Los Angeles police spokesperson. He is being held without bail. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf or when he is scheduled to appear in court.
Glass, a Los Angeles native, posted videos showing her injuries to her eye, nose and cheek. She said she believes her vision will be OK and thanked a doctor for stitches near her eyebrow.
“Just be safe out there,” she said in the videos. “You shouldn’t have to be fearful when you walk.” | 2022-07-11T17:39:20+00:00 | everythinglubbock.com | https://www.everythinglubbock.com/sports/olympian-injured-in-downtown-los-angeles-attack/ |
Red Cross shelter to aid Salton Sea residents impacted by outages
DESERT SHORES, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The Red Cross Shelter Community Resource Center are opening their doors to Salton Sea residents.
Because of Tuesday's power outage, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3251 will provided food, water, and shelter to those in need.
The hours of operation are the following:
- 6:00am to 10:00pm (general hours)
- 8:00am to 9:00am (breakfast hours)
- 12:00pm (lunch hour)
- 600pm to 7:00pm (dinner hours)
Showers will also be available from 8:00am to 7:00pm, and the Imperial County Department of Social Services will be on-site to provide assistance and referrals.
If you need to seek shelter at Post 3251, then read the press release below. | 2023-02-28T20:12:46+00:00 | kyma.com | https://kyma.com/news/imperial-county/2023/02/28/red-cross-shelter-to-aid-salton-sea-residents-impacted-by-outages/ |
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